RWBY: Rising Shadow
by Whitethorn23
Summary: A great tragedy has befallen Remnant, and Team RWBY's members have been afflicted with severe trauma. But as they struggle on the road of recovery, an ancient being has awoken from their decade-long slumber to reclaim something that was stolen from them. The ultimate battle for Remnant has begun.
1. Chapter 1

**RWBY: Rising Shadow**

 **(** ** _This story will start with a narration by an unknown woman_** **)**

 _Space, a vast, endless sea of stars can normally be seen when the bright light of the sun dies away. For the people of Remnant, this is the "untapped frontier", as some unknown force or aspect of their planet denies them the chance to set sail through it. And so, they must make do with what they have on the surface of their world. But life is not made of sunshine and rainbows, as humanity and the race known as the Faunus have a sinister threat that breathes down their necks and sits at their doors. For millennia, They have been at war with the Creatures of Grimm, a vast and seemingly endless stream of monsters that prey on the negative emotions that both species produce. But the creatures that are humans and Faunus are crafty, and found ways to push back against the darkness and with dust at their side, civilization rose up and shined light across the world. But, their hearts are fragile and delicate gems, and one tragedy will change their world forever..._

 **(Story begins)**

Blazing through space, at incredible speed, a comet soared towards the shattered moon of Remnant with no signs of slowing down. It was massive in size, roughly four times the size of the largest mountain. As it soared past the moon and caused small shards of itself to impact on the lunar surface, several of the moon's broken pieces that varied in their size and mass, were violently dragged from the gravitational orbit of the moon. Some were obliterated by the fast moving comet, but a large cluster of pieces that had a few the size of a football field among them, began to drift away and towards the only thing with a strong enough gravitational pull; the planet itself.

 **SDC Offices**

 **Coastal City of Appomattox, Atlas**

 **5:00 am**

At one of the many offices that were owned by the branches of the SDC, a lone office worker arrived early to get some last minute work for the company taken care of. He was a human man with a slight muscular build and a unique scar on the left side of his face, hinting towards a different career before being employed by the SDC. He approached the security guard at the desk, who was a portly fellow in his mid 40's, who was snacking on a donut...

"Yo, Franklin." The guard said.

"Hey Tony, how are you doing?" Franklin said.

"I'm doing alright, surprised to see you here this early." Tony responded.

"Forgot to grab some important papers on my way out last night, so I decided to come in early to get them." Franklin explained.

"Well, let me walk you up, standard protocol." Tony said.

"Alright man." Franklin said casually.

Tony got up from behind the desk, and followed Franklin over to the elevators where they proceeded to take the elevator up to the 32nd floor where Franklin worked. The 32nd floor was filled with cubicles and corner offices. They stepped out of the elevator, and walked through the Cubicle rows to look for Franklin's...

"You got to understand why I got to walk with you, right?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, new policy that old man Jacques put in place after the Rochelle fiasco. Security has to accompany any employees that arrive before work schedule hours to avoid espionage." Franklin said.

"Yeah, After Rochelle got busted for corporate espionage, Jacques took every measure possible to avoid further incidents." Tony said as they arrived at Franklin's cubicle.

"Well, what ever happened to Rochelle?" Franklin said.

"Trust me, you-" Tony said before being interrupted.

The two men were surprised by a loud, roaring sound that completely caught them both off guard and by surprise. They were surprised to see a large fireball blazing towards the bay after they ran to the windows. It impacted just outside the bay of the city, igniting in a bright light and sending a shockwave that shattered the windows...

"What the hell?" Tony exclaimed.

"Looks like a meteorite impact." Franklin said.

"I thought those couldn't happen." Tony said before noticing something off about Franklin.

He then looked in the direction that Franklin was, the direction of the shoreline, in which he saw a startling sight. The water of the shores began to retreat with tremendous speed, out towards the area where the impact was...

"Is there anyone else in this building?" Franklin asked.

"Just me, you, Ronnie, Billy, and a couple of janitors." Tony explained.

"Tell Ronnie and Billy to tell those janitors to haul it to the 45th floor." Franklin ordered.

"What? Why?" Tony asked.

"Because water retreating like that means that whatever just impacted was the prelude to a massive tsunami!" Franklin exclaimed as the ground began to shake.

Large waves began to crash against the shore, in which Franklin began to rush several workers upstairs to the 45th floor of the building. They watched in horror as a massive wave engulfed the city and began to destroy everything in its path. But as the waters receded, a strange black sarcophagus emerged within the ruins of the city among the debris that washed up because of the wave.

"Is this the end of the world?" Tony asked in a scared tone.

"Maybe, look." Franklin said.

The group watched in horror as a large cluster of lights began to fall heavily towards the surface at high speed...

 **(Narration resumes)**

 _The human heart is a fragile gem, but the soul is where the humans are at their strongest. It allows them to endure whatever hardship befalls them, and it delivers them their hope. But there is another spot of their hope; Family. You damage that, then hope will diminish from existence within the human to the point of disappearance. Because of this, humanity has only one weak point in their core. When that weakness is accidentally exploited by tragedy, this moment triggers a single question that becomes the most important lesson for life. Will you endure?_

 **City Of Vale**

 **7:30 am**

Ruby and Weiss were walking down the street early the morning as a package from home came for Weiss. So Ruby decided to accompany her to the city, since they had some free time today due to it being a day off.

"Thanks for helping me out today, Ruby." Weiss said.

"Not a problem, we're teammates after all." Ruby responded.

"Yeah, plus you owe me one for covering for you yesterday in science class." Weiss said.

"You still holding that over my head?" Ruby said in an annoyed tone.

 _ **Flashback**_

Dr. Ian Couldry, a well-known Aletian scientist on cryogenics, was a human man in his mid-40's with chiseled looks and a well-trimmed beard. He was known for his research into cryogenic studies and their applications to the field of emergency rescue as he believed that cryogenic pods could be utilized in the field as a means to transport critically wounded patients. Weiss and Ruby were in the fourth row with Yang and Blake, with Weiss getting irritated by Ruby's constant snickering every time he said a word that sounded dirty...

"Alright, who's been snickering every time?" Professor Peach demanded.

"Sylvia passed gas so Cardin found that it was funny." Weiss immediately said.

The two students who Weiss mentioned immediately were shocked by the accusation, in which Peach responded appropriately by reminding Sylvia to hold it in til the class was over, while scolding Cardin for being disrespectful.

 ** _Present Day_**

As the two girls walked towards the end of the sidewalk, they passed by a television store that was about to play a breaking news story...

"Umm, Weiss?" Ruby said, getting her teammate's attention.

"Hmm?" Weiss asked.

" _We halt your regularly scheduled broadcast to bring you a breaking news story out of the Kingdom of Mantle. A massive tsunami has struck off the eastern seaboard of the Kingdom and has decimated three separate cities along the coast. Reports state that fatalities stand in the ten thousands, and damage estimates total approximately over 3 billion lien. Authorities are calling this tragedy "the worst of the decade."_ Lisa Lavender explained.

"Oh my God." Ruby said in a shocked tone.

"How on earth did it happen?" Weiss inquired.

" _Eye witness reports state that a series of unidentified objects impacted off the edge of the coast, with a recorded force that was difficult to register. Wait, we've just receiving reports of similar impacts have occurred in Vacuo and Haven."_ Lisa Lavender said.

"Vacuo and Haven? Just what is going on?" Weiss demanded.

"Umm...Weiss?" Ruby said.

"What?" Weiss asked.

"Do you hear that?" Ruby asked, referring to the loud, roaring sound.

Picking up on what Ruby was saying, Weiss began to hear a loud, roaring sound that seemed to be getting closer until the two girls saw a bright, fireball strike a nearby building just across the way. Then, the roaring sound continued as multiple, similar fireballs began to pelt the city in a barrage of destruction...

" _ATTENTION, ALL VALE CITIZENS, AN OMEGA RED SITUATION IS IN PROGRESS, PROCEED TO YOUR DESIGNATED SHELTERS IMMEDIATELY._ " The Emergency PA said.

"Come on, run!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Ruby shouted.

"The nearest shelter if I remember correctly is on Clifford street. If we keep moving, we can make it." Weiss said as the two turned the corner.

As the two ran for their lives, Blake and Yang were having a difficult time as well back on the Campus...

 **Beacon Academy**

 **7:35 am**

The campus of Beacon Academy was in total chaos as the fast-moving meteors bombarded both the city and the campus grounds. Ozpin's voice blared over the intercom, telling all students and staff to get to the on-campus shelters immediately...

"What the heck is going on?" Nora asked.

"It's some kind of meteor shower." Ren said in a surprised tone.

"I'm sure meteors are not supposed to be this scary!" Jaune shouted.

"We have to get to the shelters, hurry!" Yang shouted.

As Yang, Blake, and Team JNPR ran towards the shelters, Blake immediately noticed a student was trapped underneath a thrown bench near one of the impacted meteors, which still radiated with heat from its arrival. Blake immediately ran over to the student to assist...

"Hey, are you alright?" Blake asked.

"My leg's pinned down and I can't really feel it right now." The student explained.

"Means its probably broken. Let me try to get this bench off." Blake said as Nora rushed over to help.

"Let me give you a hand." Nora said.

Nora lifted the bench off the student while Blake pulled them away from the bench as Nora dropped it. Afterwards, Nora carried the student on her back towards the shelters while Blake followed behind them. As the group neared the shelters, Yang turned back to how they were doing in which she saw a meteor heading towards the area just behind them...

"Come on! Hurry!" Yang shouted.

Blake immediately noticed the incoming meteor, and realized that Nora has been slowing down due to the fact that she had been carrying the injured student. Realizing the dangerous situation that they were in, Blake immediately jumped into the student's back and sent the two flying forward as the meteor hit the ground and exploded in a bright light...

"BLAKE!" Yang shouted in horror.

 _ **Back in Vale**_

Ruby and Weiss ran through the streets, desperately trying to reach the shelter and avoid getting hit by the massive meteors that were bombarding the city. Burning cars flew through the air, stone and debris fell from buildings that were hit, and some areas had massive explosions occurring.

"Why does the next shelter have to be so far?!" Ruby exclaimed in annoyance.

"How was I supposed to know that the shelter I knew of would be filled?!" Weiss responded as she was panting and out of breath.

As the two turned the corner, a meteor impacted in a nearby dust shop, starting a fire which Ruby immediately noticed but Weiss didn't notice because she was distracted by her lack of breath...

"Weiss, look out!" Ruby shouted.

"Ruby?" Weiss said in a confused tone.

Ruby immediately pulled her teammate back far enough before the shop exploded in a ball of fire and sent shards flying everywhere, and hit Ruby so fast that Weiss could hear through the loud sound of the explosion was a loud, tearing sound...

 **This concludes the first chapter of RWBY: Rising Shadow, a story centered around Team RWBY as they are divided as a great tragedy had befallen the World of Remnant in the form of the Moonfall, an event in which pieces of Remnant's broken moon have been thrown into the gravitational pull of Remnant and have bombarded the surface of the planet. The fates of Blake, Weiss, and Ruby are currently unknown as Vale is under bombardment by a violent shower of moon pieces and Atlas has suffered from a violent tsunami. The next chapter will pick up with Weiss making a serious decision when a life is in her hands, the event gets even worse, and a new character is introduced as Weiss has a task for them...**

 **WAIT AND SEE...**


	2. Chapter 2: Darken the Skies

**Chapter 2: Darken the Skies**

 **City of Vale**

 **7:40 am**

Weiss was dazed and disoriented by the explosion caused by the shop, and her nostrils were filled with the smell of ash in the air. An airship was flying overhead, telling all citizens to seek shelter as a much larger meteor was inbound and was heading for Mountain Glenn. She felt something heavy on top of her, and realized it was the only person that was with her though the entirety of the chaos; Ruby...

"Ruby, please get off me." Weiss said in a dazed tone.

But when Weiss moved her hand and made contact with Ruby's chest, she immediately felt something moist and slimy-like on her palm. Curious as to what it was, she lifted her hand up only to see something that immediately shook her to her core as her hand was stained red, redder than Ruby's cloak. The young heiress' instincts immediately knew that something was wrong and so she carefully slid out from underneath Ruby to check the damage to her teammate and was overcome with sheer horror at what she saw. Ruby's entire front was riddled with large, open wounds and areas that had what appeared to be wood and dust shards protruding from them, and there was a large scar that looked as if it was running up her neck. Ruby tried to speak, but all Weiss could hear was the bubbling sound of liquid, which could mean blood has filled her mouth...

"Ruby, try not to speak, you're going to be fine." Weiss said in a panic.

Ruby coughed in which blood with what appeared to be dust shards sprayed out, landing on Weiss' shirt. This caused Weiss to panic, as she was overcome with many emotions of shock, worry, fear, and horror at the state of her teammate. She immediately looked around any possible options to get Ruby some medical attention. There was not a single soul in sight, not one ambulance was on the street, no passing cars, and not a single airship could spot the two girls because of the thick smoke that was being produced by the impact sites blanketed the skies. Seeing very few options and Ruby was bleeding heavily, signifying severe internal ruptures in her body, Weiss immediately did the most riskiest move possible and sacrificed her aura to try and jumpstart Ruby's depleted aura. It made Weiss feel exhausted, but for Ruby, it had meant that the bleeding had stopped or had been slowed down enough to spare her from death. Weiss immediately noticed a set of lights in the sky above her, in which a Bullhead with the Atlas Academy logo on it descended until it stopped in front of her. The side doors opened and Dr. Couldry and a couple of Atlas soldiers and a group of students appeared...

"Miss Schnee, are you alright?" Dr. Couldry asked.

"Doctor, she needs help, now!" Weiss exclaimed with tears in her eyes, referring to Ruby.

Upon seeing the injured Ruby Rose, Dr. Couldry hopped off the airship and rushed to Ruby's side, followed by one of the soldiers and Flynt Coal, one of the students...

"What the hell happened?" The soldier asked.

"We were just trying to get to the shelter when that shop exploded." Weiss explained, pointing the ruined building.

"Damn, that's not good." Flynt said.

"We need to airlift her to a hospital, now." Dr. Couldry said.

"Understood, Grey, we need a stretcher, now!" The soldier shouted to his buddy on the airship.

"We'll take care of getting her onboard, you just worry about getting that pod of yours out of demo mode." Flynt said.

"Alright." Dr. Couldry said, returning to the airship.

Weiss immediately noticed that the cryo pod that Dr. Couldry had demonstrated in class was onboard the airship and remembered what he had advised before in the classroom before the presentation: the pod he was demonstrating was just one of his actual, created cryostasis units that had been modified with a demo setting so he could present it to the class. The other soldier and one of the students came off the airship with a completed stretcher while Dr. Couldry went to work on disabling demo mode, completing his task after Ruby had been moved onto the stretcher off the hard ground.

"Get her inside, quick!" Couldry exclaimed as he took two objects from inside.

"Got it." Flynt said.

The group carefully transitioned the unconscious Ruby inside, in which Dr. Couldry immediately placed one of the objects he grabbed over her eyes...

"You're covering her eyes?" Flynt said in a confused tone.

"If you had paid attention when I presented this, Mr. Coal, you would understand that the temperatures inside the pod can possibly damage the corneas if exposed." Dr. Couldry explained before closing the pod.

"Why are you guys loading up on the ships?" Weiss asked.

"Ironwood received orders from the Vale Council, all foreign nationals are being returned to their respective kingdoms." Grey, the soldier who assembled the stretcher, explained.

"We have to hurry back to the main frigate, this pod currently has a limited power source and needs to be plugged in immediately upon arrival." Dr. Couldry explained as Ruby's weak vitals appeared on a holographic display that was built into the glass of the pod.

"Her vitals are up, they're weak but the pod is keeping her stable." One of the students said after noticing.

"The pod is designed to slow the heart rate to a point in order to prevent the body from bleeding out." Dr. Couldry said.

"Atlas Cruiser in range." The pilot said.

"Speed it up, that's the last one still in Vale airspace." Grey said.

The airship arrived in the hangar, in which Ironwood marked it off as the last of his airships to arrive and gave the order for the ship to move out. As the ships occupants exited, he noticed that Weiss was exiting the airship in blood-stained clothes, which immediately caught his attention...

"Miss Schnee, are you alright?" Ironwood asked.

"I'm fine, it's not my blood you noticed." Weiss said.

"Then who's is it?" Ironwood asked.

"It belongs to Miss Ruby Rose." Couldry explained.

"What?" Ironwood said in a surprised tone as Dr. Couldry and the soldiers off-loaded the cryo pod containing Ruby, with Flynt following behind.

Ironwood looked inside the pod to see the injured Ruby, becoming completely shell-shocked by the sight of seeing her state and condition...

"Take her to the medical bay and get it hooked up to a new power source." Ironwood ordered.

"Understood, General." Dr. Couldry said.

"Flynt, take Miss Schnee and get her cleaned up a bit. I'll send someone with a new change of clothes for her, but I have to make some phone calls first." Ironwood explained.

"Sure, come on Schnee." Flynt said, gesturing his hand.

After the two walked away, Ironwood immediately pulled out his scroll and dialed Ozpin to notify him of Ruby's state...

"Oz, are you there?" Ironwood asked.

" _James, I'm surprised that you are still in Vale airspace._ " Ozpin said over a static-filled message.

"Well, I have something to inform you of." Ironwood said.

" _What (Static) is it?"_ Ozpin asked.

"Miss Rose is-" Ironwood said before being interrupted by the sound of a loud explosion.

He immediately turned to see a large fire ball appear from the center of Beacon tower, which was also the Kingdom's CCT tower, and then noticed that his scroll now said "CALL TERMINATED, NO CCT SIGNAL". This cemented his worst fears, the Vale CCT is offline, and then he noticed a large bright light reflecting off the water as he immediately spotted the source: a meteor almost the size of mountain Glenn.

"PILOT, GET US OUT OF HERE." Ironwood said into his private comm.

The Atlas frigate quickly accelerated out of Vale Harbor, while Ironwood watched as the meteor smacked into the ground just outside of Vale in a bright light. As he walked away, the hardened general of the Atlas military forces had a look of regret on his face as he had an unexpected charge to look after and he couldn't inform the people close to her about what happened.

" _I'm sorry, Qrow._ " Ironwood thought to himself.

 _ **3 hours later**_

 **Outside Atlas Waters**

 **Atlas Cruiser _Wallachia_ infirmary**

 **10:02 am**

Weiss sat in the medical bay of the cruiser beside the cryo pod that was holding onto her badly wounded teammate, in which Ruby's pod was improved by Dr. Couldry and the medical officers onboard the ship as Ruby was now outfitted with an oxygen mask inside the pod and had special tubes draining the excess blood that pooled up in her body. Her face was beat red from the tears she shed for Ruby, and was now wearing an Atlas student uniform in place of her previous clothes that were bloodstained. She looked at the unconscious Ruby, feeling an overwhelming urge of powerlessness upon seeing the leader of the team she was a part of was suffering...

"Miss Schnee, are you alright?" Ironwood asked as he entered the room.

"Honestly, I just feel helpless right now." Weiss said.

"That's understandable, considering the situation." Ironwood said.

"So, were you able to inform anyone that Ruby came with us?" Weiss asked.

"I was in the middle of informing Ozpin when the CCT was knocked out by a rogue meteor." Ironwood explained.

"The CCT is down?" Weiss said in a shocked tone.

"Yes, but Atlas and the other kingdoms have contingencies for this scenario. They probably already activated the cross-kingdom system to reestablish communications across their nations, but communication between kingdoms will be difficult." Ironwood said.

"Yeah, but without the CCT, how is Ruby's family supposed to know what happened?" Weiss said, sounding irritated.

"I can handle that detail when we arrive in Atlas, but our first priority should be getting her to a hospital." Ironwood said, gesturing to Ruby.

"True." Weiss said.

"Before the fleet arrives in Atlas airspace, I'm going to have the pod loaded onto an airship so we can try to find a hospital that'll take her." Ironwood explained.

"We?" Weiss asked.

"Of course, I want you to tag along." Ironwood said.

"Understood." Weiss said.

" _General, airship 1-42 is fueled up and ready to go. We are entering Atlas airspace now."_ A soldier said over the intercom.

"It's time." Ironwood said.

The two exited the infirmary to allow Dr. Couldry and an engineering team to retrofit the capsule for the trip...

 **4 minutes later**

 **10:06 am**

After the pod was retrofitted with a modified power source that came in the form of an external generator, Weiss and Ironwood took off an Atlas bullhead to get the injured Ruby to a hospital while the main fleet proceeded towards the capital. Since they were in Atlas, they could easily tap into the cross kingdom communications system, a national restricted sub-system to that of the CCT. But, the system was flooded with communication chatter between the relief effort forces, hospitals, and random distress calls from people who were trapped either in a building or station by debris washed up by the tsunami...

"Damn it, we'll never find a hospital to take her at this rate!" Ironwood exclaimed in frustration.

"We don't have to find a hospital." Weiss said, sounding as if she had remembered something.

"What are you talking about?" Ironwood said as Weiss tinkered with the radio frequency.

"SDC Florence Medical Facility, this is Airship 1-42 of the _Wallachia,_ do you copy?" Weiss asked.

" _Who is this? This is a restricted SDC communications channel, only Chairman Schnee or someone from the family can use this_ _channel_." A voice on the other end said.

"This is SDC heiress Weiss Schnee, and I have need of your services." Weiss said.

" _Oh, young miss, we didn't know it was you._ " The voice on the other end said in a surprised tone.

"Well I'm glad that you've corrected that mistake." Weiss said, much to Ironwood's surprise.

" _Anyway, what can we do for you? Should we inform your father?_ " The voice asked.

"That won't be necessary, He should already be aware of this channel's use by now." Weiss said.

" _Understood, so what can we do for you?_ " The voice asked.

"I have a critically wounded individual who requires serious medical attention onboard, tell Dr. Sorenson to be on standby with a medical team for our arrival." Weiss explained.

" _Right away."_ The voice said before the channel cut out.

"Florence Medical Facility?" Ironwood asked the heiress.

"It's a private medical facility owned by my family, and normally it is reserved for family members if they need treatment for serious issues. However, there are moments when exceptions can be made and friends of the family are able to be brought to the facility at the orders of which family member uses the channel." Weiss explained as she punched the coordinates into the Navigational computer.

"So you actually can allow Ruby in?" Ironwood asked.

"Yes, but my father may throw a fit that she's not someone of high standing." Weiss said as she pulled out her scroll.

"True, I know Jacques can be a real pain in the ass when it comes to his friends. What are you doing by the way?" Ironwood asked.

"Got to make a call to someone I can trust, someone who I can rely on." Weiss explained.

"Okay." Ironwood said.

The general decided to follow the coordinates provided to him by Weiss, leading them to a location in the mountains. Weiss commented on how the location was discreetly close to the house that the family used to use during the winter time, making it the perfect spot for Jacques to hide in order to avoid a scandal about his health. The institute was a large building, with three separate wings for each necessary form of treatment and study, with a statue of the snowflake logo of the SDC out in front of the building.

" _Miss Schnee, this is Dr. Sorenson, I am on standby with a medical retrieval team to acquire the wounded individual per your request._ " A voice on the radio said.

"Thank you, Doctor." Weiss responded.

The bullhead landed on the rooftop landing platform, in which a man in a formal doctor's coat approached the airship as its ramp lowered down and Weiss exited first as Ironwood followed behind, pushing the Cryo pod carefully down the ramp.

"Welcome back to Atlas, Miss Schnee." Dr. Sorenson said.

"I'm only here until Beacon Academy decides to send the message to recall any students who were in attendance." Weiss explained.

"Right, now then, the individual in the Cryo capsule is the wounded one you mentioned in your transmission?" Sorenson inquired.

"Yes, she took severe shrapnel injuries and requires treatment immediately." Weiss said as the doctor observed the wounded Ruby in the capsule.

"Oh, she's gonna need more than just simple treatment. Mathis, notify Dr. Jennings to have the operating theater and the medical team ready for when I get down there." Sorenson ordered.

"Yes sir." One of the team members said before pulling out his radio.

"I got to get back to the capital, this whole incident with the tsunami raises serious security concerns and the council is probably getting ready to discuss the incident." Ironwood said.

"Alright. I'm going to have to deal with my father's complaints about my use of the institute to help Ruby." Weiss said.

"Weiss, I will do everything that I can in order to send someone to Vale to notify her family of what happened." Ironwood said.

"Thank you, General." Weiss said.

Ironwood boarded the bullhead and took off, in which Weiss ventured inside to wait for any results of the surgery that Ruby was about to receive. But before she went through the rooftop door that lead into the building, She stopped as the air near her began to move at a slightly heightened speed...

"Thank you for coming Hiyori." Weiss said.

"Of course milady." A voice said behind her.

A spectral-esque figure of a dark-skinned woman wearing a white robe that was moving as air was seemingly being blown out from the bottom. It was enough to go around her and conceal her presence, but Weiss was able to tell due whenever she was around due to her sharp hearing...

"I've told you plenty of times, you can just call me Weiss." Weiss said.

"I feel that addressing you by a formal title is more suiting to my position, Weiss." Hiyori explained.

"The reason that I allow you to address me by my first name is because I trust you. You're like a sister to me after all." Weiss responded.

"I thank you for that kindness." Hiyori said.

"You're welcome. Did you bring what I requested?" Weiss asked.

"Yes, a spare change of clothes await you in the changing room as you requested." Hiyori said.

"Thank you, I'll notify you if I need you again, so can you stay on the grounds for now?" Weiss explained.

"Sure. Klein wanted me to inform you that the winter house is ready for you two once your associate awakens." Hiyori said before disappearing.

"Thank you for sharing." Weiss said before Hiyori disappeared again.

The heiress proceeded downstairs, while Ruby was admitted to the operating theater to undergo surgery for her injuries. Thus began a long period to await for any news regarding Ruby...

 ** _2 hours later_**

 **Room 213**

 **SDC Florence Medical Facility**

 **Grant Mountains, Kingdom of Atlas**

 **12:30 pm**

A group of doctors brought in a treated Ruby, who now had bandages on her arms, stomach, and neck coupled with an oxygen mask on her face that was hooked to a machine, into the room and got her set up with a few different machines and setting up blood and IV bags while Weiss had observed. She had changed into a formal dress that mirrored her former uniform, just with a darker shade of blue to it. After they were done, all but Dr. Sorenson remained in the room with Weiss to talk, unaware that Hiyori was listening in...

"Well, we've done all we could for now." Dr. Sorenson said.

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked.

"Her body is in a state where if we pushed any further with the surgery, we could potentially risk worsening her condition." Sorenson explained.

"Oh." Weiss said in a concerned tone.

"Anyway, we had to rebuild most of her upper muscular and nervous system, and we plugged up the leaks where blood was leaking out. She lost approximately 45% percent of her blood, any more and she would slipped into shock." Sorenson said.

"My god." Weiss said.

"Thankfully, her aura managed to heal up and plug up the serious zones. "Sorenson said.

"Thank god, so it worked then." Weiss said.

"What was that?" Sorenson asked.

"Oh, I used some of my aura to restart hers after we were caught in the blast that gave her the shrapnel injuries." Weiss explained.

"That's very kind of you, anyway, we also cleaned out her bloodstream of any traces of dust particles or material that could potentially harm her from the inside. We'll have her undergo another surgery next week." Sorenson explained.

"Why next week?" Weiss asked.

"Like I stated before, her body is unable to withstand the continuous stress of the surgery. We need her aura to bring her body back into balance before we make an attempt again to finish up, after all, she almost went into cardiac arrest on the operating table." Sorenson explained.

"Oh." Weiss said.

"Anyway, she's going to be comatose for a while to let her body re-balance." Sorenson explained before leaving.

After Sorenson left, Weiss was left alone with the comatose Ruby in the bitter silence of the room. She walked over to Ruby's bedside and gently stroked the unconscious Ruby's head, in which Weiss immediately noticed that as she pulled the hand that stroked Ruby's head back had begun to tremble and shake in which she couldn't even close it properly. As she started to panic, a breeze of air shot down her arm as she watched almost as if the air was closing her hand with a gentle touch to it...

"Hiyori, thank you." Weiss said as Hiyori began to appear, holding her hand closed.

"You possess a wound that runs deeper that the stitches a healer applies to a wound, a wound of the soul." Hiyori explained.

Weiss knew what she had meant, Hiyori had the unique talent of being able to identify when a person possesses serious trauma and knows how to use a special combination of her wind semblance and a therapeutic agent to help individuals. Despite having a strict warrior philosophy, a heart of gold existed within this young girl's body. As Hiyori fully appeared beside Weiss, She pulled her hood down and revealed her snow white hair that was shoulder length with some parts having been braided and held together by small Golden rings. Signs of a jet black tattoo ran down her neck and underneath her robe, and a set of metal bracers were slightly seen under the sleeves of her robe...

"It was this hand where I saw it. The Blood." Weiss said.

"I'd imagine it was hers?" Hiyori said, referring to Ruby.

"When I saw her injured, I was so frightened by the sight." Weiss said as tears began to form in her eyes.

"When you see the ones that you have a place in your heart suffering, you feel as if you are being dragged down to the depths of hell itself." Hiyori commented.

Weiss couldn't withhold her tears as she started to sob as Hiyori immediately held her close as the heiress began to cry as fear had overtaken her. Hiyori looked to the window and saw storm clouds gathering...

"A storm brews to darken the skies." Hiyori said.

"Hiyori, I have a task for you." Weiss said as she dried her tears.

"What is it?" Hiyori asked.

"I want you to look after Ruby while she is in this state. I do not trust Whitley to play nice while Ruby is unconscious." Weiss ordered.

"It will be done." Hiyori responded.

 **This Chapter concludes with Weiss discovering Ruby to be heavily injured from the dust shop explosion, the CCT tower has been knocked out of commission, and Ruby has been brought to Atlas as Ironwood was unable to notify the family about what happened. This chapter also introduces Hiyori, a Schnee family secret servant that is loyal to Weiss, who has been assigned to guard the unconscious Ruby from any possible moves by Whitley. Hiyori has a wind semblance due to her being based off of Wamuu from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, as she adheres to a strict warrior philosophy, but cares for Weiss as she is seen as a sisterly figure to her. The next chapter will shift to a worried Yang receiving a visitor at her home, and Pyrrha's past with Pumpkin Pete's comes to approach her with an offer...**

 **WAIT AND SEE...**


	3. Chapter 3: Relieving Angels

**Chapter 3: Relieving Angels**

 **Xiao Long Residence**

 **Island of Patch, Vale**

 **8:30 am**

 **5 days after Moonfall.**

Velvet walked towards the Xiao Long Residence, quickly stopping to look back towards the mainland. The way that she knew that the mainland could be seen was the massive, dark cloud that formed as a result of the impact of the large moon piece that obliterated Mountain Glenn. It was 5 days since the incident, and things were in the worst shape possible as the dark cloud was filled with ash that disabled all air transportation in the main city. As she walked up to the log made building, an exhausted Taiyang noticed the young rabbit Faunus walking towards the house and got up from taking care of the flowers in front of the house...

"Excuse me, hi." Taiyang said as he hurried over.

"Oh, hello sir." Velvet said.

"You kind of caught me by surprise there." Taiyang commented.

"Sorry bout that, is Yang in?" Velvet asked.

"Oh, you must be one of her friends from Beacon." Taiyang said in response.

"Yes sir, my name's Velvet." She said.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Tai, Yang's father." Taiyang said in response.

"Pleasure to meet you." Velvet said.

"Thanks, I appreciate you coming out here to visit her." Taiyang said.

"No problem. Everyone is worried about her since the incident." Velvet said.

"Honest truth, she and I are in the same boat. We're both at our wits end about where Ruby has gone." Taiyang said.

"Do you know where Yang is?" Velvet asked.

"She's just inside, trying to find something to take her mind off all this." Taiyang explained.

"I can understand, we all could use a healthy distraction right about now." Velvet said.

Taiyang went back to work on the flowers while Velvet proceeded inside, finding Yang sitting on the couch with the family pet dog, Zwei, cuddled up with her. The signs that showed how she was suffering at the fact Ruby was missing were clearly visible, as there were dark bags under her eyes which meant she hasn't been sleeping well, her lower forearms were bandaged from 5 days ago, and her eyes still had a slight redness to them which meant that she was crying a lot...

( _ **Flashback**_ **)**

 **Beacon Academy Campus**

 **Just outside Emergency Shelter**

 **5 days ago...**

" I NEED SOME HELP HERE!" Yang screamed.

Yang was carrying an injured Blake, who was laying on a board, to the shelter with the help of Pyrrha, while Coco, Sun, Yatshuhashi, Jaune, and Sage worked together to shield the two with a couple of shields provided by Atlas soldiers and the Shelter's security stockpile. Blake was completely unconscious, in which she had severe scars on her body, there was discoloration over her left shoulder and there were a few open wounds on it, and her right leg was in the worse shape as it looked broken...

"GET HER INSIDE!" Oobleck shouted.

"Everyone! Clear a path!" Professor Port shouted.

"Come on everyone, move out of the way!" Velvet shouted as she and a couple of students cleared the way for the duo to get through.

Velvet watched as Yang, whose forearms that looked as if they were burned by something hot, in which she noticed that the blonde-haired tank of Team RWBY was crying out of worry for her friend...

 **Present Day**

"Umm, Yang?" Velvet said.

"Oh, hey Velvet." Yang said.

"How are you holding up?" Velvet asked as she calmly sat down next to Yang.

"I'm barely holding together after everything that happened. Ruby is nowhere to be found, and me, my dad, and my uncle are barely holding together." Yang explained resting her head on Velvet's shoulder, exhausted.

"Losing Ruby is really causing damage to your family, huh." Velvet said.

"Yeah, Uncle Qrow said that Ozpin received a call from General Ironwood before the CCT was disabled, and that Ruby was mentioned." Yang explained.

"Do you think the General knows something?" Velvet asked.

"Yeah, but he can't do anything since air travel has been completely shut down in or out of the main city." Yang said.

"That ash cloud has made it very difficult." Velvet said.

"Yeah, Dad had to take a boat to come get me when the chaos died down." Yang said as she petted Zwei.

"At least you're not too far gone. I'm pretty sure Cardin was being an ass and holding a wager on whether or not you went insane since Ruby vanished." Velvet said.

"That asshole." Yang commented.

"Yeah, he still is even after his house had a rock crush it." Velvet explained.

"Wow, that's karma for being such an ass to other kids." Yang said, her tone slightly improving.

"Yeah, anyway, do you know anything about your teammates? Weiss? Blake?" Velvet asked.

"Weiss probably went back to Atlas, while Blake is heading back home to Menagerie to recover from her injuries." Yang explained.

"They sent Blake home? In the state she was in after what happened?" Velvet said in disbelief.

"Don't worry, Sun decided to help her out just in case anything were to happen." Yang explained.

"Oh." Velvet said.

As they sat and talked, Pyrrha was about to get an unlikely visit from someone she hadn't seen in a long time...

 **Vale Refugee Zone, Section 13**

 **City of Vale outskirts.**

 **8:35 am**

In the wake of the Moon Fall bombardment, the ash cloud produced made the environment of 2/3rds of the city unsafe due to extremely low temperatures at night and the cloud rained ash down into the city. The falling ash choked up drainage systems, streets, and even ventilation systems of buildings. To make the matters worse, many water lines were destroyed in the bombardment so many people couldn't get water at all or the water they could get was unsafe to drink as ash had contaminated it. And so, the Vale Council issued directive order 13-C, the order for the creation of an established safe zone just east of the city. The entire population of the affected areas were relocated to the safe zone, in the hopes of preventing any fatalities. Supplies were provided by both the SDC and several other relief aid agencies. The relief agencies and a few huntsman groups staffed the zone, until civilian volunteers provided assistance alongside a few Atlas soldiers who were accidentally left behind during the evacuation. Pyrrha Nikos was a student at Beacon, but the school was closed down due to the CCT requiring serious repairs. So, she was spending time with her friends and teammates in the safe zone as volunteers...

"Alright, lift." Jaune said.

"Got it." Pyrrha said in response, as the two lifted a box of supplies onto a shelf.

"Thank you, you two." An elderly gentleman said.

"Not a problem sir, We're here to help since Beacon's closed down for a bit." Pyrrha said.

"Well I'm glad that folks like you are donating your time to help out folks like me." The man said.

As the two stepped out, they bumped into Ren and Nora as they had finished their assigned tasks for the supervisor...

"How'd you guys do?" Jaune asked.

"The Robinson Family is well stocked with enough supplies to last a couple weeks." Nora said.

"Their kids have a couple of flicks that they're sure to enjoy." Ren said.

"Kid-Friendly?" Pyrrha asked.

"Of Course." Ren responded.

"PYRRHA!" A voice shouted that caused Pyrrha to freeze.

She turned around to see a man with orange hair, wearing a blue and gold button up shirt, brown shorts, with a feathered tail poking out from behind him. He wore a set of sunglasses with purple lenses on his face, in which he stopped just short of the group...

"Sonny, what are you doing here?" Pyrrha asked.

"Umm, Pyrrha, do you know this guy?" Nora asked.

"Sorry, allow me to introduce myself, my name is Sonny Mills, Pumpkin Pete's public relations." The man said.

"He was the agent who handled my photo shoot for the box." Pyrrha explained.

"Oh, nice to meet you. I'm Jaune, and this is Ren and Nora." Jaune said, introducing the rest of the group.

"Pleased to meet you." Sonny said.

"Sonny, what are you doing here?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'm here on business, how would like to be a part of a little something that ol' Pumpkin Pete is planning?" Sonny asked.

"That would be?" Pyrrha asked.

"The company's planning a "relief tour", going around the kingdoms, dropping off blankets and other supplies, and a box of the cereal for the kids." Sonny explained.

"Oh." Pyrrha said.

"Anyway, the company reps want you on the tour." Sonny said.

"Wait, what?" Jaune said.

"They want me to go on the tour?" Pyrrha said.

"Yep, Having youth around the kingdoms meet their idol is certainly a big morale booster." Sonny said.

"Oh I see, you're hoping that having Pyrrha on the tour will improve morale around the kingdoms." Ren figured.

"Exactly, high morale means that it is less likely the Grimm will take advantage of this chaos." Sonny said.

"He's got a point, the Grimm are probably going to find some way to cause trouble." Ren pointed out.

"If you still need some convincing, look no further than the fact that your friends here can come along to." Sonny said.

"Wait, you're willing to invite us?" Jaune asked.

"Of course, plus we're kind of short on volunteers to help. Normally, staff from the company would be called in to assist, but so much of the personnel are staying home with their families after all that's happened." Sonny explained.

"We'll be glad to help out." Jaune said.

"Great, I'll see about having a couple of copies of the tour schedule made for you." Sonny said.

"Thanks." Pyrrha said.

Sonny walked away to make some calls, leaving team JNPR to talk amongst themselves about the interesting man that they had just met...

"He's quite...interesting." Nora said.

"Don't give him chocolate, it does not end well." Pyrrha said.

"Why is that a problem?" Ren asked.

"Back in his younger years, he was the poster boy for another cereal brand until the brand was shut down." Pyrrha explained.

"What was the brand?" Jaune asked.

"Some chocolate cereal that turned out to have a serious impact on the consumer's health." Pyrrha said.

"I think I remember the brand you're talking about." Ren said.

"I do too." Nora said before giving a "shiver".

"Anyway, if he eats chocolate now, his gag reflex would want him immediately to get it out." Pyrrha said.

"So chocolate makes him sick." Jaune said.

"That's right." Pyrrha asked.

"How on earth is that possible?" Ren asked.

"The company hoodwinked him into thinking that if he didn't eat the cereal for the duration of his contract, it would be a direct violation." Pyrrha explained.

"What a bunch of jerks." Nora exclaimed in disgust.

As Team JNPR received the information about the most important trip of a lifetime, Ironwood was about to get a status update about the situation that is happening around the world...

 **Valkyrior** **Hall**

 **City of Gaia**

 **Kingdom of Atlas.**

 **10:31 am**

Valkyrior Hall was the central capital building of the City of Gaia, which was home to the Atlas Academy. The city was on high alert following the Moon Fall incident, as the Kingdom's entire east coast was systematically decimated by a massive tsunami that leveled 3 separate cities. The causality toll was high, in which the Council immediately reacted to the incident by swiftly placing curfews and regulating hospitals that were being flooded as well as civilians who were injured in the tsunami began to pour into them. Ironwood, as the general of the Atlas armed forces, was immediately called in to an emergency council session...

"You're late, James." Councilor Schwein said.

"Sorry, Councilor, I was busy dealing with reports about how chaotic things have been." Ironwood said.

"It's fine James, we're all a little under stress from all this chaos." Councilor MacArthur said.

"Let's get down to business, if we wish to get a better grip of this situation, it must be now." Head Councilor Rommel said.

"Agreed, let's go over the information we know." Schwein said before bringing up a map of the kingdoms. " As it currently stands, all major kingdoms are seriously incapacitated by this event in their own specific form. For us, the cities of Dachau, Appomattox, and Berga have all been devastated on the eastern coast." He explained.

"Do we know the cause?" Ironwood asked.

"3 massive meteorites impacted 3 miles off shore, unleashing a tsunami event that hit both cities. Currently casualty tolls stand at approximately 10,000 each, while the damage estimate is in the billions." MacArthur explained.

"Our science committee has confirmed the pieces match with the composite structure of our own moon." Schwein explained.

Ironwood and the other councilors were surprised by this, physical pieces of the moon had crashed landed into Remnant's own surface. The ultimate question that they had to ask; how in the hell did that happen?

"What about the other kingdoms?" Ironwood asked.

"At this moment, the hardest hit by this event was Vale. The council has had to evacuate over 2/3rds of the main city population to a nearby safe zone due to conditions in several areas having been covered by a massive ash cloud." Rommel said.

"An ash cloud?" Ironwood asked.

"A moon piece, roughly a quarter the size of Mountain Glenn, impacted just outside the old city by the same name." MacArthur said.

"How are we getting this information?" Schwein asked.

"We've received Intel packets from each nation, as it would seem that the kingdoms have decided to share information amongst themselves about their status." Rommel said.

"They have each received a copy of information about what happened here." MacArthur explained.

"Vacuo is suffering from severe sandstorms, which have been made worse by moon pieces that destroyed several dust mines in the area." Rommel said.

"How is that bad?" Schwein asked.

"The mines are now leaking shards of dust that hadn't ignited in the initial blast. Mixing with the storms, the shards are starting to ignite in the storms as they blaze through the city." MacArthur said.

"Settlements across the continent had to evacuate in order to stay ahead of the storms." Rommel said.

"All that leaves is Mistral then." Ironwood said.

"Compared to Vale and Vacuo, Mistral is luckier." Schwein said.

"They are suffering from severe wildfires that have broken out in the south and making their way north." MacArthur explained.

"Have they started evacuating civilians?" Ironwood inquired.

"Villages and settlements are evacuating to the area of the main city and massive trenches are being made to stem the flames." Rommel said.

After looking over the information, Rommel immediately got serious as there was an important matter to discuss with them...

"Now, onto the true business at hand." He said.

"What is it?" The other councilors asked.

"This tragedy is on a global scale, kingdoms are incapacitated by this incident and we don't know if this was the only time that it will happen." Rommel explained.

"True, we are completely vulnerable if another moonfall were to occur. Not to mention national defense grids are offline and Grimm could mobilize against us." Schwein said.

"We are also not prepared to deal with a disaster such as a tsunami of the scale that leveled the three cities happens again." MacArthur pointed out.

"That is why I am calling for a Vytal Conference." Rommel said, shocking the other councilors and Ironwood.

"A Vytal Conference? In the middle of this crisis?" Ironwood said.

"I guess we have no other choice. If there is to be any major recovery, the kingdoms must come together and develop a strategy to fixing each of the damage." Schwein said.

"The topic of this conference will be the establishment of a joint-kingdom organization to develop and research new stratagems and defense technologies in order to better prepare each nation for any incidents such as the moon fall." Rommel said.

"We shall assemble a delegation to attend, the other kingdoms should as well." MacArthur said.

"Send messengers to the kingdoms." Schwein said.

Ironwood knew what this meant, a situation such as the moonfall needs to be dealt with by means not confined to combating the Grimm. Plus, if the world was to ever fully recover properly from this disaster, they would have to come together and begin development of a new plan. History was about to be made on this day, as the world faced a tragedy that they could only resolve if they stand together...

 **This chapter concludes with Atlas deciding to call for the Vytal Conference, an event to discuss the creation of an organization to resolve the tragedy that had befallen the world. Velvet visits the Xiao Long residence to check up on Yang, who has been miserable since the disappearance of Ruby. Taiyang was also suffering, but he tried to stay strong since what had happened, and the fates of the other kingdoms are revealed in a meeting. Pyrrha and her friends are recruited into a relief tour that Pumpkin Pete's, a cereal brand that Pyrrha has a history with, was sponsoring in order to boost morale in the kingdoms following the Moonfall. The next chapter picks up with Weiss revealing the existence of Ruby in Atlas to someone she trusts, an injured Blake has an emotional homecoming to Menagerie, and Ironwood receives a messenger to carry out a very important task for him...**

 **WAIT AND SEE.**


	4. Chapter 4: Homecomings

**Chapter 4: Homecomings**

 **Cloud Banner Estate**

 **Grant Valley, Atlas.**

 **9:30 am**

 **1 week after the Moonfall incident**

Cloud Banner Estate was a small mansion located in the Grant Valley of Atlas, approximately 1 mile away from the secluded Florence institute. It was owned by the Schnee Family, and would normally be reserved for family vacations or when Jacques would need a place to avoid any scandal that would involve his health. Now, Winter arrived at the estate as Weiss had been residing there rather than back at the main house with their father and brother, which had the experienced Atlas specialist curious as to what her sister was up to. She walked up the steps of the house as Klein, the family butler, walked down to greet her...

"Welcome, miss Winter." Klein said.

"Hello Klein, is Weiss in?" Winter asked.

"She is currently enjoying some tea on the balcony." Klein said in response.

"I need to speak with her." Winter explained.

"Of course, follow me and I can take you to her." Klein said.

The two walked upstairs and into the house, where a young, dark skinned girl whose hair was tied into a ponytail and in an outfit that consisted of a bright pink skirt, white boots, a brown shirt with a tan jacket over it, and a blue scarf, greeted them.

"Maria, it is good to see you again." Winter commented.

" _Likewise, milady._ " Maria said in sign.

Maria was one of the sisters to Hiyori, and was born with an extremely powerful semblance that was difficult to control. Her semblance made any word that she spoke came out in the form of a destructive shockwave. In order to prevent any injuries done to either Weiss or her mother, Klein took it upon himself and taught the girl sign language for her to use as a form of communication. She escorted the two to the balcony where Weiss was, in which Winter was immediately surprised by how much her younger sister had changed since Vale. She was wearing a new outfit, which consisted of a white formal shirt, a blue short jacket, and skirt with gold details, and white boots and there was a strange detail about Weiss's shirt. The sleeve on her left was longer than the other as the right one was kept rolled up, and the hand was covered by a jet black glove. There was an air of seriousness and pain around her, which quickly dissipated upon noticing her sister.

"Oh, Winter." Weiss said.

"Hello, Weiss." Winter said as her sister got up and hugged her.

"I'm surprised that you are here." Weiss said as she gestured for Winter to sit down.

"General Ironwood has given me leave for today." Winter said as she sat down.

"That's good, everyone in the Atlas military is probably under a great deal of stress since the tsunami and the Moon Fall." Weiss said.

"This tragedy has effected the entire world." Winter said as Klein placed a cup of tea in front of her.

"Yeah, I was in Vale when the chaos happened. Still don't know what happened to the package that mom sent me." Weiss said before taking another sip of her tea.

"I see." Winter said.

"So what brings you to me?" Weiss inquired.

"I'm curious about something, you come back home from Vale and seclude yourself in the house that we use on vacation. Mother is expressing some concern about this behavior of yours." Winter explained.

"I have some things that I need to sort out." Weiss said.

"Then why don't-" Winter said before being interrupted.

The hardworking Atlas specialist had her train of thought derailed by the sound of Weiss' tea cup clattering as the hand that was about to grab it had begun to shake erratically. Klein immediately took notice of the shaking, setting down the teapot and hurrying to Miss Schnee's side...

"You're alright, Miss Schnee, just concentrate on your breathing." Klein said as he carefully clasped the shaking hand.

"I'm alright, thank you Klein." Weiss said, resting her other hand on top of his and breathing steadily.

"Are you dealing with something traumatic?" Winter asked.

Weiss immediately knew that her sister was immediately suspicious of her behavior pattern, in which it would not take long before she would immediately figure out what she was up to...

"Klein, have the car ready. We're going to Florence." Weiss said before finishing her tea.

"The medical facility? Weiss, what is going on?" Winter asked.

"It's time you saw the reason why I am choosing to stay in this house instead of the larger home mansion." Weiss explained.

As Winter was about to learn the secret of Weiss' hidden motivations, Blake was about to have an emotional reunion with her family...

 **Kio Kuana.**

 **Faunus kingdom of Menagerie**

 **10:12 am**

The village-city of Kio Kuana was recovering from the damage it took during the Moon Fall. Some of the coastal buildings of the village were destroyed by rogue waves, and there were small impact sites at different locations in the city. A massive traveler's boat arrived at the repaired docks and started off-loading the passengers, who were largely Faunus that decided to return home in the wake of the tragedy. As they offloaded, one female Ram Faunus passenger noticed a young cat-Faunus girl, whose right leg was in a brace and left arm was wrapped in bandages and in a sling, carefully making her way towards the ramp by running her good hand along the railing with a blonde haired boy who was a monkey Faunus that had a pillow tucked under his right arm and a duffle bag slung over his shoulder...

"Hey, are you alright?" The woman asked.

"I'm alright, just have to be careful." Blake explained.

"Why aren't you helping her?" The woman said in a scolding tone to Sun.

"Hey, I tried, but my tail keeps causing trouble for her." Sun said in his defense as they got to the ramp.

"( _Scoffing at Sun_ ) Anyway, would you like some help getting down?" The woman asked Blake.

"Yeah, I shouldn't be bending my right knee too much." Blake said.

"Don't worry, I know a way to help." The woman said.

The woman was generous enough to walk Blake down, taking every precaution in order to avoid worsening Blake's already painful condition as it was. As soon as they reached the bottom, they parted ways as Sun was left alone with her...

"Well, she was nice." Sun said.

"True, right now, everyone needs to come together and show some form of being nice." Blake said.

"BLAKE?!" A familiar voice shouted.

Blake turned to see Ilia, her friend and former comrade from the White Fang, rushing up to her before she immediately hugged Blake...

"Ilia, thank god you are alright." Blake said.

"I'm just relieved that you're alive." Ilia said before noticing Blake's injuries. "What happened?" She asked.

"I got hurt back in Vale, the doctors there managed to patch me up to the best of their ability. Do you know where my parents are?" Blake said.

"They're at the house, trying to coordinate the repair efforts in town." Ilia said.

"Alright, can she borrow your shoulder for the trip? Distances are not easy for her right now." Sun asked.

"Of course, but, who are you?" Ilia asked.

"This is Sun, he's a student from Haven and a friend of mine from school. He was nice enough to help me get home." Blake explained.

"Now, I just carry the bags." Sun said.

"Okay, let's get you home." Ilia said as she allowed Blake to wrap her good arm behind her neck.

As the trio made their way to the Belladonna Household, Blake thought back to the moment where she was put into this state...

 **Beacon Academy**

 ** **Kingdom of Vale.****

 ** **7:35 am****

 **1 week before.**

The Meteor hit the ground just meters behind Blake before exploding in a bright ball of light. Several small shards blew right past her as the force of the blast knocked her off her feet, moving so fast that her aura couldn't stop them from either cutting her skin or burning her. A rock roughly the size of a softball smacked into the back of her left shoulder with tremendous force, in which Blake immediately heard the sound of her shoulder fracturing at the impact. As she struggled to get her footing back, another meteor piece came out of nowhere and smacked into her right leg and broke it while a smaller piece hit her in the chest, though it was much slower than the others, in which Blake immediately coughed blood up in that moment.

"BLAKE!" Yang shouted as she fell to the ground.

In that moment, Blake immediately fell unconscious, in which she then awoke in a field hospital with Sun and Yang at her side...

"Yang?" Blake asked.

"Blake." Yang said in a worried tone.

"Hey Doc, she's conscious!" Sun shouted to a doctor.

After that, her memories following that were blank...

 **Present Day.**

The trio had arrived outside the Belladonna household, which was surprisingly unscathed from the entire disaster. There were some parts of the wall that normally surrounded the building that were damaged, but they simply got off lucky while the rest of the village was damaged. Ilia immediately noticed that Blake's breathing was getting labored and timed, which meant that she was getting exhausted just from making the trip from the docks to her home...

"Are you alright, do you need to rest?" Ilia asked.

"Yeah, I need to." Blake said.

"Okay." Ilia responded.

Ilia and Sun carefully sat her down on a nearby rock after Sun set the pillow down, in which Blake sat down and carefully timed her breaths...

"What's wrong with her?" Ilia asked Sun.

"She has a pretty rough chest injury, and if she breathes too fast it causes her chest to hurt." Sun explained as he pulled out a small, white bottle and a water bottle.

"Oh. What is that for?" Ilia said.

"The Vale docs prescribed her some meds to help deal with the pain, and it requires that she drink some water to get the medicine to work." Sun explained.

Ilia watched as Blake swallowed a small, red pill and then take a decent sized sip of water as Sun took out his scroll and checked the time...

"Okay, I think I'm ready." Blake said.

"Are you sure?" Sun asked.

"Yes, let's get up the steps." Blake said.

"Alright, it's better to meet your parents face to face." Ilia said.

The trio made their way up the steps, with Ilia helping Blake lean against the railing and Sun immediately took over while Ilia sounded the knocker on the Belladonna's front door. After a couple of moments, the door opened and Kali Belladonna, the matriarch of the Belladonna family answered...

"Oh, Ilia, what are you doing here?" Kali asked.

"Well, see for yourself." Ilia said, stepping out of Kali's view so she could see Blake.

"Blake?" Kali said in a concerned tone as she stepped out the door.

"Hi, mom." Blake said as Sun helped her stand up.

Kali immediately hugged her injured daughter, holding her close as Blake hugged her back...

"My baby girl." Kali said.

"You know, I really missed your hugs." Blake said as she hugged her mother tightly.

"Are you alright dear? You look like you can barely stand." Kali said.

"Yeah, I got hurt back in Vale, is it alright that we talk inside?" Blake asked.

"Of course, Ilia, can you see if one of the guards would set up a couch for Blake to lie down on?" Kali asked.

"Of course, ma'am." Ilia said before heading inside.

"Kali, who's at the door?" A male voice said from inside.

As Ilia walked inside, she ended up passing Ghira, who was curious as to who answered the door and saw that it was his injured daughter...

"Blake?" Ghira said in a surprised tone.

"Hey, dad." Blake said.

As the Belladonna parents reunited with their daughter, Winter learned the secret that her sister was hiding...

 **SDC Florence Facility**

 **10:20 am**

Winter stood in the doorway of the room, looking at Ruby, whose torso and arms were wrapped in bandages and covered by a patient's gown, with a look of shock on her face. Weiss was sitting next to the bed, with Hiyori ( _with her hood down_ ) standing beside her as a form of emotional support...

"So she is the reason why you were staying in Cloud Banner." Winter said.

"Yes, the doctors are advising me to have her stay in Cloud Banner as it is technically better suited for her. Plus, it would allow us to make it to Florence faster and on time if something happens or she has an appointment to get to." Weiss explained.

"Does father know?" Winter asked.

"He probably knows, he just hasn't had the time to try and confront me about it." Weiss said in a cold tone.

"But that leaves a question; why is she even here?" Winter asked.

"I had no intention to bring her with me to Atlas, but the chaos in Vale prevented me and Ironwood from getting her to a hospital in the Kingdom due to pressure from the Council to get out of Vale airspace." Weiss explained.

"So you were powerless." Winter said.

"Yes, Ironwood told that he was going to everything he could to have someone go to Vale and notify Yang about what happened." Weiss said.

"Well he's going to have his hands full, High Councilor Rommel has called for a Vytal Conference." Winter explained.

"Probably to deal with the fallout of this event." Weiss said.

"True." Winter said as Hiyori walked over to her.

"Might we have a word outside?" Hiyori asked.

"Of course." Winter said.

The two exited the room to have a private chat, leaving Weiss alone with the unconscious Ruby...

"What do you wish to discuss?" Winter said.

"When you first visited her ladyship, did you notice the slight tremble in her hand?" Hiyori asked.

"Yes, it started to shake at moments." Winter responded.

"Well, I can assure that Miss Schnee has been deeply traumatized from the chaos in Vale." Hiyori said.

"I figured as much, but you seem to know more than I about the details." Winter said.

"According to her, Miss Rose tried to shield her from an explosion while they were in Vale." Hiyori explained.

"So that is why she is in such terrible shape." Winter commented.

"The event that left Weiss deeply traumatized was when she attempted to get out from underneath her after the explosion threw them both back into another building." Hiyori said.

"So Miss Rose landed on top of her?" Winter said in a surprised tone.

"When she attempted to get out from under her, the hand she now conceals behind that glove made contact with her torso, and all she could see when she lifted it up was Miss Rose's blood." Hiyori explained.

This immediately shocked Winter, her younger sibling had witnessed something shocking beyond belief. Initially, she knew that Weiss didn't have the same military discipline as her due to Weiss only being a student at Beacon for a short time while Winter was a military specialist for several years.

"What is Weiss' plan when Miss Rose recovers?" Winter inquired.

"Once the girl is well enough to travel and if the recall order for all Beacon Academy students to return is given, she intends to go back to Beacon in order to finish what she had started before the Moonfall had occurred." Hiyori said.

"Understood." Winter said.

As Winter spent the day with Weiss, Blake was about to receive an update that was going to blow her mind...

 **Belladonna Household**

 **Kio Kuana, Menagerie.**

 **10:28 am**

The Belladonnas were all gathered in the tea room with Sun and Ilia, while Blake was lying down on a couch that was set up by Sun and one of the House guards. Ilia sat next to Blake, helping her drink her tea since Blake had slight difficulty due to her injuries...

"We were horrified when we heard about what was going on in the other kingdoms. Vale may not have been a paradise, but it didn't deserve what had happened." Kali said.

"We had just experienced our barrage when the first messages about the other kingdoms came out." Ilia explained.

"All three of us were worried for you when we heard about Vale." Kali added.

"Please, I knew that she would survive." Ghira said in a brash tone.

"Oh, your constant pacing didn't verify that belief." Kali said in response.

"You guys have nothing to worry about, Your daughter's one tough cookie, take it from me as I have seen her in action before." Sun said, unintentionally provoking the others.

"What exactly do you mean by that, Mr. Wukong?" Ghira asked.

"Well..." Sun said as he started to sweat uncontrollably.

"Relax, dad, he means my fighting talent." Blake said.

"Alright." Ghira said as the door knocker was sounded.

"Oh, the meeting." Kali said.

"I completely forgot about that." Ghira said as he started to stand up.

"What meeting are you guys talking about?" Blake asked.

"With the White Fang, of course." Kali said.

"WHAT?!" Blake and Sun said.

"It's alright, the new leaders for the chapter here are good people." Ilia said as Ghira returned to the room, followed by two individuals.

Blake looked at the two individuals who were both members of the White Fang, and noticed they were different than normal members. The tallest of the two wore a golden hood, and light, leather armor mixed with a white and black shirt with a long cape with his distinctive scales on display. The other, a short fox Faunus girl, wore a black hood over plate armor and carried a unique longsword on her side...

"Who are these people?" Blake asked.

"Sister Belladonna, it has been a long time." The girl said.

"This is Goh Jira and Culpeo Albain, they are the new representative leaders for the White Fang here on Menagerie." Ghira explained.

"If they are the new ones, where's the previous ones?" Sun asked.

"Corsac and Fennec have departed due to their ties with the Splinter Cell that Taurus commanded had been exposed." Goh explained.

"What?" Blake asked.

"I think that we should explain." Culpeo said.

"The White Fang is on the verge of disintegration, High Leader Khan was heavily injured in the chaos caused by this "Moonfall" incident and half of the chain of command had been killed." Goh said.

"It's gotten that bad huh?" Sun asked.

"Yes, but at least the radical splinter cell under Taurus' command has collapsed into infighting for who will be his successor." Culpeo said.

"What do you mean?" Ghira asked.

"Adam Taurus is missing, and anyone who could have been a worthy replacement for him is either dead or missing." Goh said.

"Not just that, the Vale branch of the Fang has collapsed, and its surviving, loyal members have been integrated into the other chapters." Culpeo explained.

"So the Splinter Cell has collapsed?" Blake said.

"Yes, those who worked under Adam either broke into groups behind some random commander, or dropped their banners and resigned from the group." Ilia said.

"Sister Ilia and Sister Trifa from the branch here are just some of the few who resigned from the group." Goh explained.

"My brothers were foolish to stay on, now they follow Commander Buku of the Vacuo Chapter." Culpeo explained.

"What about Sienna? How is she doing?" Kali asked.

"She's currently comatose in a White Fang sponsored facility, Second Commander Luna has temporarily taken over in her stead." Culpeo explained.

"Luna is the most capable as she worked closely with Sienna on many occausions." Goh explained.

"She is also brash and hot-headed, I still remember the fiasco that went down in Vacuo." Ghira said in an annoyed tone.

"We would have approached you, Chief Belladonna, but your duties as the leader of Menagerie have kept you occupied as Kio Kuana needs its chieftain at this current moment." Goh said.

"Don't worry, we are fully committed to assisting you in the relief efforts here." Culpeo said.

"Of course, right now, I am going to be having a decent reunion with my daughter." Ghira said.

"Understood, we can return at another date." Goh said.

The two departed almost immediately, leaving the chieftain to enjoy the reunion with his young daughter. As Blake still pondered the information she had received, Ironwood was about to get a great burden off his shoulders...

 **Atlas Academy Headmaster's office**

 **City of Gaia, Atlas.**

 **10:40 am**

Ironwood sat at his desk with an irritated look on his face, as any Atlas operatives who could handle a simple courier mission for him were either busy in the field or had gone home to be with their families in the wake of this tragedy. He took a sip of his coffee as the main desk clerk contacted him...

" _Excuse me, General._ " The woman said.

"What is it?" Ironwood asked.

" _Councilor MacArthur is here to see you._ " She explained.

"Alright, send him up." Ironwood responded.

Councilor William MacArthur was a man in his mid-60's that was the former General of the Atlas military until he was succeeded by Ironwood himself, as the latter had taken up a Council position. He arrived at his floor, exiting the elevator and proceeding to enter the room...

"Hello, Councilor." Ironwood said.

"James, you've been rather busy of late." MacArthur commented.

"Yeah, trying sort through reports of our military status and damage assessments of what happened on the coast is tiresome." Ironwood said.

"I heard through the grapevine that you have been trying to find someone to handle a courier assignment." MacArthur said.

"It's not local, in case you are wondering." Ironwood said.

"Of course it isn't if the mission takes the courier to Vale. What is going on, James?" MacArthur said.

"Do you remember how I told you that the Vale Council sent all nationals home due to the extent of the chaos?" Ironwood asked his mentor.

"Of course, it's standard routine when it comes to a crisis like this." MacArthur said.

"Well, not all of the passengers aboard the _Wallachia_ were native Atlas-born citizens." Ironwood said.

"Did you bring foreign nationals onto our soil?" MacArthur said in an Alarmed tone.

"Only one, sir. I would have returned her to a hospital somewhere in the Kingdom but we had to leave Vale airspace immediately." Ironwood said.

"This isn't good, if the Vale council discovers that we have one of their citizens on our shore, you can expect there to be a scandal on our hands." MacArthur explained.

"I know, but that is why I am seeking someone to be a courier for me, to notify their family of what happened." Ironwood explained in his defense.

"What do you mean?" MacArthur inquired.

"She was gravely injured trying to shield Weiss Schnee, the heiress to the SDC, from a dust shop explosion." Ironwood said.

"Where is she now?" MacArthur asked.

"At a private SDC medical facility, at the request of Weiss." Ironwood said.

"Understood, if she recovers enough to travel, I want her to be repatriated to Vale as soon as possible." MacArthur said.

"Of course, but her injuries were very extensive. She had to be placed into one of Dr. Couldry's cryostasis modules in order to prevent her from bleeding out." Ironwood explained as his desk beeped again.

Ironwood went over to check, in which the Clerk had appeared again...

"What is it?" He asked.

" _Sir, Operative Schnee is here to speak with you about that assignment you have been trying to get someone to handle._ " The Clerk explained.

"Alright, send her up." Ironwood ordered.

Winter arrived a couple of minutes later, while MacArthur departed to help assemble the delegation for the Vytal Conference that would be fast approaching at the end of the month. Ironwood sat down at his desk, in which he came face to face with Winter after she arrived in his office...

"Hello, sir." Winter said.

"Hello, specialist." Ironwood responded.

"I understand that you are having difficulty trying to find someone to complete a courier assignment?" Winter inquired.

"Yes, I am." Ironwood responded.

"Well then, I would like to volunteer." Winter said.

 **This chapter concludes with Ironwood finally getting someone to deliver a message to Vale in the form of Winter, Weiss has received a new costume, Blake has reunited with her family and her old friend Ilia after being accompanied by Sun, and another sister of Hiyori is introduced in the form of Maria, who is inspired from Black Bolt of the marvel series Inhumans. Ruby's status is shown to have changed, while Weiss has begun to display signs of PTSD from seeing Ruby's blood on her hand. If you notice that there is going to be a unique pattern in my writings, as I am trying to work on one story at the same time as this one. The next chapter picks up with the awakening of Ruby, team JNPR reaches the first stop on the Pumpkin Pete's relief tour in Mistral, Winter sets out to deliver the message to Ruby's family and first tells the one person she really doesn't like, and the sarcophagus from Chapter 1 is found...**

 **WAIT AND SEE.**


	5. Chapter 5: Awakening

**Chapter 5: Awakening to Reality**

Ruby stood in what appeared to be a field of luminescent, white flowers under a star filled sky, and it was serene and silent as the wind blew across the area. There appeared to be zero hills or any structures in the area, leaving it to be the most gorgeous sight that the aspiring huntress had ever seen before in her life...

"This place, it's beautiful." Ruby said to herself.

Her train of thought was immediately derailed by the sound of something blowing the air behind her gently. She spun around to see something that would only exist in the world of fiction and fantasy; a large, white dragon that was huddled around what appeared to be a small flame with its wings folded to its sides. Though it looked asleep, it was actually awake as it opened its eyes to reveal that they were silver, just like Ruby's...

"Excuse me, where am I?" Ruby asked the dragon.

" _You are in the Light Side of the World, a place where mortals who have passed can come to before deciding to venture fourth to the afterlife._ " The dragon spoke in a voice identical to that of an elderly man, not even opening its mouth.

"So, that means...I'm dead?" Ruby said, sounding slightly scared.

" _You are not, only held between the grip of Mors and Vita, between death and life._ " The dragon explained.

"Then how am I here?" Ruby asked.

" _You have been trapped in a death-like stillness for a time, lacking only the will to awaken._ " The dragon explained.

"So, I've been unconscious." Ruby figured.

" _It is not your time to walk these fields yet, silver eye, your destiny still lies before you. When your time comes, I shall greet you as an equal and as a warrior._ " The Dragon said.

"Okay." Ruby said.

" _Now, it's time for you to rise and embrace your future._ " The Dragon said.

It lifted one of its arms up, and touched Ruby's forehead with the tip of one of its talons and caused them both to be surrounded by a swirl of the flower's petals...

 ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **SDC Florence Medical Facility********************

 **Grant Mountains, Atlas**

 **8:30 am**

 **3 weeks after Moonfall.**

Weiss sat next to Ruby's bedside, with Hiyori standing behind her and resting her hand on Weiss's shoulder for support. It was 3 weeks since the tragedy of the Moonfall incident, and Ruby had been comatose and unresponsive for a long while, which left Weiss in a constant state of worry for her teammate. Meanwhile, Hiyori decided to go without her cloak today, revealing what would normally be concealed by it. Her outfit consisted of white pants, a black shirt with open rings on the back, a set of metal bracers on her arms, distinctive golden rings and earrings that were a gift from Weiss' mother, and long red boots. Ruby laid motionless on the bed, her hair had grown longer during the time she was in this comatose state, and she even lost a bit of weight...

"I'm surprised that you're here without your cloak." Weiss commented.

"Well, Nadia was pressuring me so she could put it through the wash." Hiyori explained.

"I can understand." Weiss said.

"Miss Schnee." Hiyori said in surprise.

Weiss immediately noticed what Hiyori had seen; Ruby's hand that Weiss was holding had started to move and twitch as Ruby started to breathe and grunt slightly as her eyes slowly opened...

"Weiss?" Ruby said in a groggy voice

"Ruby." Weiss said in a relived tone.

"I'll go fetch the doctor." Hiyori said before leaving the two.

Ruby slowly opened her eyes and carefully looked around at her surroundings, while Weiss elevated the bed to a certain angle that wouldn't put any pressure on her front while Hiyori entered the room with Dr. Sorenson in tow...

"Good morning, Miss Rose, how are you feeling today?" Dr. Sorenson asked.

"Where am I?" Ruby asked.

"You are in the Florence Medical Facility, in Atlas." Dr. Sorenson explained.

"Atlas? Why am I in Atlas?" Ruby said in a confused tone.

"I'm sorry, when you got hurt back in Vale, I unintentionally brought you to Atlas with me since all foreign nationals were being sent home under orders from the Vale Council." Weiss said.

"So that explains why my chest hurts." Ruby said.

"Believe me, your chest would have done a lot more than just hurt if Miss Schnee didn't bring you here." Dr. Sorenson said.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"That explosion sent shrapnel that tore up the majority of your muscular and nervous system in your torso. Plus, you had small particles of dust in your bloodstream that took us a while to filter out. " Sorenson said.

"The doctors did what they could the week of your arrival, then finished the repairs the following week." Hiyori explained.

"I see." Ruby said.

"You've been in a coma for 3 weeks, Ruby. A lot has changed since then." Weiss said.

"Oh. What happened to Vale?" Ruby asked.

"I'll tell you later." Weiss said.

"Okay, now I got to see how the surgery we did has fared. Miss Schnee, can you sit her up straight?" Sorenson said as he walked over to the bed.

"Of course." Weiss said.

Weiss sat Ruby up, keeping her straight so she wouldn't lean forward and possibly risk damaging her repaired body. Dr. Sorenson pulled out his stethoscope, placed it on Ruby's back, and told her to breathe carefully. Ruby complied, in which Dr. Sorenson listened carefully...

"Okay, you can lay her back down." Dr. Sorenson said.

"So, how does it look?" Weiss asked.

"Her aura has drastically improved her body eliminating the shock, but she needs time to physically recover." Dr. Sorenson said.

"What will that require?" Hiyori asked.

"Well, we can easily provide therapy sessions to test her muscle strength, but the only issue is how to transfer her here." Dr. Sorenson said.

"Cloud Banner Estate is just a quick drive from here. If she is able to leave, then we can take her there and bring her back whenever she requires a session." Weiss said.

"That's a good suggestion, but we'll keep her here for tonight since she had just awoken after all." Sorenson explained.

"That's alright." Ruby said.

"Okay, I'll be stopping by from time to time in order to check up on her if she stays here." Weiss said.

"Okay, I'll make sure Ernie knows that you'll make the occasional visit." Dr. Sorenson said.

As Weiss was overcome with relief that Ruby was able to pull through, Team JNPR arrived at their first destination on the tour...

 **Mistral Relief Zone**

 **City of Haven outskirts.**

 **9:01 am**

Pyrrha and her teammates arrived in the Safe Zone that was established on the outskirts of the main capital city of Haven with the rest of the volunteers, and they saw scenes that made the Vale Safe Zone look like a wealthy hotel. There were civilians who had severe burns on either their legs, arms, or even their face. A towering column of thick, Black smoke could be seen in the distance from almost anywhere in the Kingdom...

"It's like something out of a horror film here." Jaune said.

"Yeah." Nora said.

"Let's find Sonny, he's probably over in the supply delivery area." Pyrrha said.

"Sure, let's get moving." Ren said.

The team and volunteers proceeded through the crowds of civilians, each area of the camp had both refugees and armed guards, huntsmen, and huntresses patrolling the area of the camp...

"Why so many guards?" Nora asked.

"I heard reports that Grimm could mobilize towards the camp, plus tensions are on the rise here in the camps." Jaune said.

"Probably humans and Faunus trying to pick fights with one another." Ren said.

"True, share one place together for too long and there's bound to be trouble. There could also be bandits who want to take priority of their own people over the displaced refugees. " Pyrrha said as the delivery area came into view.

"Hey you guys!" Sonny shouted.

The four team members made their way to the Pumpkin Pete's rep, who was waving them down from in front of a large stockpile of supplies, with boxes of Pumpkin Pete's beside them...

"How was the trip getting here?" Sonny asked.

"Long and tiring." Jaune said.

"Well, considering every thing that has transpired, I wouldn't be surprised that travel routes are backed up." Sonny commented.

"Anyway, what do we need to do?" Pyrrha asked.

"You can deliver supplies with your friends, we aren't going to make you say any promotional crap, so you can deliver your own words of comfort and inspiration to any folks you meet." Sonny said.

"Alright." Jaune said.

The team hopped into a supply cart, which was driven by a company assigned driver, to oversee the delivery of supplies to Refugees. As they went to work, Winter was about to deal with the task that lain ahead of her...

 **Outside The Valkyrie Bar**

 **City of Vale, Safe District 1**

 **10:30 am**

Winter arrived in The first of the four Safe districts in the main city, and they were labeled safe due to the fact that the ash cloud didn't cover their areas. She looked at the cloud, which felt like a large predator sinking its teeth into near dead prey. She walked down the ash covered street, which resembled dark grey snow, stopping outside the bar that her contacts confirmed Qrow to have been visiting since the Moon Fall. She approached the bar's bouncer, who was a tall and muscular gentleman stopped her there..

"Whoa, Miss Atlas, I think you're better off standing out here." The man said.

"And why is that?" Winter asked.

"There's a lot of fellas in there whose tempers are pretty high since the majority of Atlas Soldiers bugged out and went home, and the amount of Alcohol they've been drinking since the Council has had them working overtime since The Night of Tears has only made their feelings worse." He explained.

"I see, well I have to speak to someone inside." Winter said.

"Tell me his name and I'll shout for him." The bouncer said.

"His name is Qrow Branwen." Winter said.

"Alright, give me a second." The bouncer said.

Winter stood patiently as the bouncer entered the bar, and shouted for Qrow by saying "Winter came early this season". The bouncer and Qrow, who was in a drunken stupor and carrying his weapon on his back in a cockeyed manner. There were dark bags under his eyes, which meant that he hasn't slept in in a long time.

"Well well, look who it is." Qrow said in a sarcastic tone.

"Hello, Qrow." Winter remarked.

"What brings an Atlas operative like you to a place like this?" He inquired.

"I'm here to tell you something..." Winter started before Qrow rudely interrupted her.

"Tell me what? That you're apologizing on behalf of Atlas for deserting this place when you left a whole bunch of your boys here?" Qrow said in a mocking tone.

With every mocking insult that Branwen was saying to her, Winter's temper towards the fact he was insulting her when all she had come to Vale for was to notify him that his youngest niece was alive and in Atlas was growing rapidly. Like all things, it reached a critical point and ended with Winter sucker punching Qrow in the face for his disrespectful behavior.

"Damn it Qrow, shut up listen to what I have to say. Your niece is alive, and in Atlas." Winter said.

"I know Yang is alive, and she's definitely not in Atlas." Qrow said as he staggered to his feet.

"I was talking about Ruby." Winter said.

Upon hearing those words, Qrow's drunken state vanished with all of the color in his face as he immediately scrambled to his feet...

"You serious?" Qrow said, wary of whether or not she was telling the truth.

"Of course, I saw her with my own eyes after my sister showed me." Winter said.

"Wait, you mean my niece has been hiding out with your sister?" Qrow said in a surprised tone.

"Not by choice and whatever way you are picturing that." Winter said.

"Then what the hell is my niece doing in Atlas?!" Qrow exclaimed.

"Ruby was injured heavily in the chaos of the moonfall, Weiss tried to evacuate her to another hospital and Ozpin was about to be notified when the CCT was knocked offline." Winter said.

"Ozpin? So that means Jimmy was going to tell Oz..." Qrow said.

"That Ruby was alive, and then Ozpin would in turn notify you since you two were normally in contact with one another." Winter said, finishing his thought.

Qrow dried some minor tears that had taken form in his face, his youngest niece was alive but had been horribly injured and is currently in another kingdom. After regaining his composure, the drunken huntsman immediately sobered up and faced Winter...

"Did you tell anyone else?" Qrow asked.

"Ironwood told me to only inform her family members and Ozpin, no one else." Winter explained.

"Good, then we're going to the harbor." Qrow said, leading her.

"Why?" Winter asked.

"We're going to the island of patch, because that's where her home is." Qrow explained.

As Winter went to talk to Yang and her father, a discovery was about to be made in the ruins of one of the devastated cities in Atlas...

 **Appomattox Disaster Zone**

 **Kingdom of Atlas.**

 **11:00 am**

An SDC surveyor was walking around the devastated ruins of Appomattox, taking notes of the damage alongside dozens of other surveyors. The scene at Appomattox was one of total devastation, smaller building that once dotted the coast were either swept away or pushed inland, larger skyscrapers were toppled or leaning against one another and any roadway or train rail line had been swept away or buried under tons of debris and even sea materials that washed up because of the wave.

"This is Surveyor 11, sound off." The man said into his radio.

" _Copy that 11, this is 12, how's it looking on your end?_ " A voice on the radio said.

"It's all a mess, the Lee building is a little too close to the Metz Financial Tower." The Surveyor commented.

" _Who knows, maybe they might hit it off._ " The surveyor on the other end said in a joking tone.

"Oh, very funny." The surveyor responded.

" _Hahaha, anyway, that will cost a hell of a lot of money just to fix it up._ " The surveyor on the other end said.

Before he could speak, Surveyor 11's attention was caught a strange song that had been playing on the wind...

"What the hell?" He said.

" _What's up, 11?_ " Surveyor 12 asked.

"There's, music of some kind coming from somewhere near my location." The surveyor explained.

" _That's weird, well, I got to check out my own stuff. Take care._ " 12 said before hanging up.

The surveyor followed the song to the exact location, in which it suddenly stopped silent. Looking around, the Surveyor found what he believed to be the source of the strange music, a large sarcophagus that was jet black and covered in a series of red runes. He started to clear off some of the debris, revealing what looked like a large Grimm symbol on the top...

"What the hell is this doing here?" The surveyor said to himself.

He moved his hand onto the Grimm symbol, in which he accidentally pricked his finger on a small point in the center. Afterwards, he immediately pulled out his radio and began to speak into it...

"This is surveyor 11, I could use some heavy lifting gear and a truck to transport quite a find to the Museum." The Surveyor said into his radio.

" _Understood 11, We'll get some equipment out to your position._ " A voice on the radio said.

The voice on the other end was unaware that the man was possessed by an unseen force, in which the surveyor's irises were glowing blood red in which he immediately collapsed as a voice began to speak...

" _You have been useful, human, now rest and await the events that look to the horizon._ " A female voice said.

 **This chapter concludes with the ancient sarcophagus being found, and a hint towards something immensely powerful lurks inside it is shown when the Surveyor who discovered it becomes possessed by an unseen entity after pricking his finger on a small, sharp point on the lid. Ruby awakens from her coma, with a relived Weiss and her ally Hiyori at her side, and her uncle learns of her survival from Winter. Pyrrha and her allies reach the first stop on the relief tour, in which they will learn about the next stop soon. The Next chapter reveals the contents of the sarcophagus, Pyrrha and her allies learn their next stop, Yang prepares for a very important trip, while Weiss approaches another of Hiyori's siblings with a very important task...**

 **WAIT AND SEE.**


	6. Chapter 6: Forsaken Queen

**Chapter 6: Forsaken Queen**

 **H.C Carter Museum of History**

 **City of Stuttgart, Kingdom of Atlas**

 **11:25 am**

The H.C Carter Museum was a popular spot that attracted tourists as it described the precursor history of the kingdom that would rise to become Remnant's largest military superpower. It was one of the only cities that had some form of stability in the wake of the Moon Fall, or the "Night of Tears" as the survivors around the kingdoms had begun to call it. Stuttgart Hospitals had been packed with survivors from the city of Dachau, which was only just two miles away from Stuttgart itself, and the large riverbed that ran past the city was up several inches with excess water that had washed up from the tsunami. In one of the backrooms, a cargo crew offloaded the sarcophagus...

"Alright, set it over here." Dr. Parker, one of the Museum researchers, said.

"Got it." The crew leader said as they moved the sarcophagus to the specified spot on a rolling cart, setting it on a small platform.

" So this was found in the Appomattox ruins, eh?" Dr. Parker inquired.

"Yeah, one of the surveyors found it amongst some debris." The crew leader explained.

"It must have been thrown off the seafloor by the force of the moon piece impact probably shook the surface of the seafloor hard enough to cause pieces of the floor to be swept into the wave." Parker said.

"Huh, well we're gonna leave to you doc." The crew leader said, leaving with his men.

Parker looked at what material had been presented to him, and readied the appropriate equipment to analyze the massive sarcophagus. Putting on a set of gloves, he began to work on gathering samples of the sarcophagus and rubbings of the many runes on the sides when a colleague walked in.

"Parker, I thought the staff were supposed to have the time off to help with the relief efforts." Lou Carr. T. Gann, a supervisor, said.

"Well, as you can see, this was something I jumped at the chance to analyze." Parker explained.

"What the hell is this thing?" Lou asked.

"One of the surveyors found it in the ruins of Appomattox, beached up there after the wave overtook the city." Parker explained.

"Well I'll be, looks like some form of older civilization that predates the formation of the kingdoms." Lou said.

"Let's find out." Parker said as a section of the sarcophagus suddenly popped.

"What the hell?" Lou said.

He walked over to the popped out section and found that it was a secret compartment with two clay idols inside that were pretty worn down. He carefully removed them, and set them down on the nearby table so he could analyze them when he had the chance.

"Lou, get a look at this." Parker called.

"What is it?" Lou asked as he walked over.

"The portraits depict some kind of uprising, amongst the Grimm." Parker explained.

"Grimm? Uprising? Those are words that you normally don't see together in the same sentence." Lou commented.

"Well, the Grimm aren't normally known to have a hierarchal structure, so why would they even have an uprising?" Parker inquired.

"Sounds to me like the Grimm used to be more organized before we came into the fray." Lou said.

"No, I think that their aggression towards used to be less than it is now." Parker said.

"What makes you think that, Park?" Lou inquired.

"Well, these carvings on the sides reveal that the "Queen" had ordered the Grimm to refrain from seriously damaging consequences to the planet. Like, not killing all of the humans." Parker explained.

"That makes no sense, why would the Grimm be merciful?" Lou asked in a confused tone.

"Because, this Grimm Queen saw humanity and the Faunus as "Nature's counterbalance". Parker said.

"So what does that-" Lou said before the lid of the sarcophagus jolted open.

"WHOA!?" Parker said as he fell back.

"It just opened." Lou said.

"Did you do that while I wasn't looking?" Parker asked.

"No, I didn't touch the damn thing." Lou responded.

"So, how did it open?" Parker said as Lou moved the lid more to reveal the contents.

The two men looked inside to see a large, skeletal body that seemed to have been wrapped in a cocoon of black material...

"Its..." Lou said.

"Humanoid, these are humanoid Grimm remains." Parker said.

"How can that be possible? Grimm simply evaporate after you kill them." Lou remarked.

"I don't know, but we should just close this thing for now, we can analyze the skeleton when we can have a proper analyst on scene." Parker said.

As they moved to seal the sarcophagus back up, one of the idols that Lou pulled from the opening on the sarcophagus suddenly started to shake in which it fell to the floor and shattered upon impact. Though Lou expressed annoyance at the loss, the two men watch as the remains of the idol were swept up by a mysterious black mist that flowed into the interior of the Sarcophagus and a heartbeat began to be heard from inside.

"What was that?" Lou asked in a scared tone.

"We need to close this thing, now." Parker said.

"Right." Lou said.

As the two tried to close the sarcophagus, a shadowy tentacle reached out and impaled Lou...

"Parker?" Lou asked.

"LOU!" Parker exclaimed as the tentacle dragged Lou into the Sarcophagus.

As soon as Lou's body made contact with the Black material on the skeleton, it engulfed the two and transformed into a pale white cocoon that slowly grew before shattering like glass. Parker watched as a towering humanoid Grimm woman emerged, with long black hair and a series of scars all over her body. Though she was at first in the nude, the dark veins on her body had shadow-like lines trace outward and transform into a long black dress and cloak...

"Oh, what a relief to finally out of that horrid box." The woman said.

" _What the hell is she?_ " Parker thought as he sweated uncontrollably.

"You there, boy." The woman said as she continued to stretch.

"Umm, yes?" Parker said, sounding nervous.

"What is this dreary place? Because last I checked, this horrid box that I was trapped in was sitting at the bottom of the ocean." She said.

"You're in Stuttgart, in the Kingdom of Atlas." Parker said.

"Kingdom? So, the primitive humans have evolved to the point that they have developed a large civilization." She said, sounding slightly impressed.

As Parker watched as the mysterious woman stepped out of the sarcophagus, still stretching her muscles as she was immobile for centuries. Taking this opportunity to try and reach for a weapon, Parker tried to reach for a saw tool that was sitting on a drawer carefully, hoping to avoid attracting her attention...

"Where do you think you are reaching?" The woman asked.

"Huh?" Parker said, realizing that he was suddenly in the woman's arms.

"If you trying to process how you got from the other side of the room into my lovely arms, it's rather simple: I simply displaced the environment around you and snatched you up." The woman said.

"You can displace reality?" Parker said, sounding terrified.

"Of course." The woman casually said as a strange shadow appeared behind Parker.

She causally pushed Parker inside of it, in which he screamed in agony before being tossed out behind it as a lifeless shell. She then swallowed the shadow, in which she felt relieved that she now had the knowledge of the changed world in her possession...

"I see, so they are cornered against the wall. That insightful cur has forced them there." The woman said as she began to transform a small wand that was in the sarcophagus into a staff.

" _Lady Lilith._ " A female voice said.

" _Tower, you remain strong._ " The woman, Lilith, responded in the same dialect, picking up the second idol.

" _Where are we? There is no light to be seen._ " Tower said.

" _Patience, I shall find you a body to inhabit._ " Lilith said, teleporting away with the idol.

As Lilith sought to give her servant a new body, Yang was about to learn some shocking news...

 **Xiao Long residence**

 **Island of Patch, Vale**

 **12:00 pm (Noon)**

Qrow and Winter walked quickly to the Xiao Long residence, with Qrow dragging Winter behind him because he thought she was going too slow. Taiyang ran in pursuit of the two as he saw them walking towards the house at a pace that had him intrigued as to why...

"Qrow, what's going on? And who is your friend?" Taiyang asked.

"We'll talk inside, come on." Qrow said.

The trio went inside the house, in which Qrow shouted for Yang to come downstairs as he and Tai sat down just as Yang came downstairs with Zwei following her and sitting on the couch with Tai...

"Uncle Qrow, what's going on?" Yang asked.

"I just heard the best news in my life." Qrow commented.

"What are talking about?" Tai asked in a confused tone.

"You can tell them, Schnee." Qrow said.

"Wait, you're Weiss' sister aren't you?" Yang asked.

"Correct, I have come to Vale with information regarding your sister, Ruby Rose." Winter said.

"What?!" Tai exclaimed.

"You know something about Ruby?" Yang inquired in a worried tone.

"Yes, she's alive, and in Atlas." Winter said.

"What is she doing in Atlas?" Tai asked.

"That's why I said at first, buddy, let her explain." Qrow said.

"During the chaos of the Moonfall, Miss Rose was heavily injured after shielding my sister from a dust shop explosion while they were in the city." Winter said.

"What?" Yang said in an emotional tone.

"Damn it, Ruby." Taiyang said under his breath.

"That doesn't explain what she is doing in Atlas." Yang pointed out.

"She was airlifted to one of the airships under General Ironwood's command, and he would have dropped her off at a hospital on the mainland but we were out of time as we under orders to return. He was going to contact Professor Ozpin in order to have him contact Qrow so he could relay the information, but..." Winter Explained.

"The CCT was knocked out of commission." Taiyang figured.

"Precisely, and so currently, my sister Weiss took her to a medical facility owned by my family to receive treatment." Winter explained.

Winter observed the reactions of both Taiyang and Yang to this shocking news, Ruby was heavily injured and was now in Atlas receiving treatment for her injuries. Tai looked as if he was relieved to hear the news, while Yang was overcome with emotion at hearing that her sister was alive.

"So is that why you came here? To tell us what happened?" Tai asked.

"There's more, sir. General Ironwood has given me instructions to notify Ozpin and bring two family members of hers back with me to Atlas. Ironwood achieved authorization to allow two foreign nationals into Atlas." Winter explained.

"Then I'll be going with you." Yang said.

"I'm going to be busy with the recovery here in Vale, plus the Vytal Conference is going to be starting soon." Taiyang said.

"So then I'll go with her so someone could be her chaperone." Qrow said.

"Ready yourself Miss Xiao Long, we have a long trip to Atlas ahead of us." Winter explained.

"Alright." Yang said.

As Yang prepared to venture to the kingdom of Atlas in order to reunite with her sister, Pyrrha and her team was about to learn where they would go next on their relief tour...

 **Mistral Relief Zone**

 **Continent of Anima**

 **11:31 am**

Team JNPR rested several boxes of supplies inside the makeshift home that a small Faunus family lived in. After setting the last box on the shelf, the teammates turned back to the door...

"Thank you for being so helpful." The father said.

"It was our pleasure to assist." Ren said.

"Only if all humans were as nice as you kids, this problem could be over with." The mother said.

"Don't give up yet, there could other humans out there who are as nice as we are. You just need to broaden your horizons in order to find them." Pyrrha said.

"You're right. We're all in the same, beat up boat since the Moonfall drove us all away from our own homes." The Father said.

"Exactly, now's not the time to be picking fights with one another. Unity is needed now." Pyrrha said.

They said their farewells and proceeded back to the supply station since it was their last stop on their list. As the cart pulled in and as they got out, Sonny immediately walked up to them with a slight smile on his face...

"Hey guys, how did the distribution go?" Sonny asked.

"We just dropped off the last supply amount." Jaune said.

"Okay, you get to be here for one more evening then we going to the next stop on the tour." Sonny explained.

"So we're spending two days in each kingdom?" Ren asked.

"Two days per kingdom, company doesn't want much trouble since the Kingdoms are still healing after this Moonfall." Sonny explained.

"Plus, tensions and moods are not well currently thanks to the event." Pyrrha added.

"So we spend two days per kingdom, doing supply delivery and volunteer work, then depart for the next Kingdom and repeat the process." Sonny said.

"So which Kingdom's next?" Nora asked.

"It took the company a bit to get authorization for it, but we will be going to assist in Atlas." Sonny responded.

"Atlas?" Jaune said in a surprised tone.

"Yeah, turns out a nation that is a military superpower was unprepared for a gargantuan tsunami." Sonny said.

"So a tsunami hit them?" Pyrrha said in shock.

"That's right, 3 of the major cities along the eastern coast got flattened and a lot of people got hurt." Sonny said.

"Shouldn't the SDC be doing something to help them?" Ren asked.

"The SDC is but in their own way, fundraising events in the still active cities and donation drives, I'm surprised that Old Man Schnee hasn't had his daughter get on stage and sing." Sonny commented.

"Typical SDC." Jaune said.

"Anyway, since you finished the supply runs, why don't you take a lunch break for now while I see if there's any groups here that could need some assistance." Sonny said.

"Sure." Sonny said.

Team JNPR went over to a large area where relief workers from both the company and outside groups were enjoying a decent lunch, while Sonny went to the supervisors with questions. They settled in and discussed their next destination on the list: The Kingdom of Atlas, Remnant's largest military superpower that was now on alert since the tsunami. Meanwhile, Weiss decided to approach another one of Hiyori's siblings for assistance on a private project...

 **Cloud Banner Estate Courtyard.**

 **Grant Valley, Atlas.**

 **12:00 pm (noon).**

In the courtyard of the estate, a tall, dark-skinned woman in a formal, white kimono attire stood at the ready with her hand resting on the handle of a practice katana that she had attached to her side, in front a training. Readying her stance, liquid metal trickled out from her sleeves, where it encased the end of the blade and drew at incredible speed, taking the head of the dummy clean off. Weiss, who was watching, claps her hands as she was impressed by it on which she caught the girl's attention while walking don the steps alongside her butler, Klein, who was carrying a large dark case...

"Oh, Weiss, when did you get here?" The girl asked as she put the practice sword down.

"Just a few minutes ago Yuri, I didn't want to disturb your concentration." Weiss said.

"I see, big Sis Hiyori wants me to stay sharp." Yuri explained as Klein set the case down on a nearby table.

"Hiyori wants all of her sisters to be at their peak because she doesn't want anything bad to happen." Weiss said as she grabbed a towel from a bench.

"Yeah, but ( _grabs towel from Weiss' hands_ ), but does she have to be such a hard ass about it?" Yuri asked as she noticed the case. "What's that for?" She inquired.

"Can you fix something for me?" Weiss asked.

"Of course." Yuri responded.

The two walked over to the case, in which Klein opened it up to reveal the object that Weiss was requesting Yuri to fix for her: a badly damaged _Crescent Rose._ Yuri was both intrigued and amazed at the design of the weapon, which was visibly displayed on her face as she was looking at like a child looking at the most delicious cake that was for sale.

"This is a marvelous weapon." An ecstatic Yuri said, wiping some drool away.

"My friend in Florence designed it herself, calls it her "her baby". Weiss said, making her air quotes.

"Really now? Looks like I have someone to talk weapons with." Yuri said.

"Easy. Anyway, it got pretty beat up in the Moonfall when we were in Vale, and I want you to improve and fix it." Weiss explained.

"Why would it need improvements?" Yuri asked.

"If she recovers physically, the doctors told me that she wouldn't be able to lift anything heavier than a jug of milk." Weiss said.

"I see, so that means you want me to make a lighter design." Yuri commented.

"She's adamant in her belief that she'll become a Huntress, so I want her to have a weapon that she can use and not risk harming herself." Weiss said, sounding very determined.

"Understood, I have a few ideas on how to fix that up, give me a couple of weeks to come up with a few designs and I'll get back to you." Yuri said.

Weiss acknowledged what she said, then left to meet with Ruby as she had a rehabilitation session before finally being able to be transferred to Cloud Banner. Meanwhile, Lilith was about to find a proper host for Tower...

 **White Fang Splinter Cell Chapter Headquarters**

 **City of Berlin, Atlas.**

 **1:30 pm**

The Atlas Chapter of the White Fang Splinter Cell was headquartered in an untouched and abandoned metro system, utilizing the older trains that were left inside as weapons or transportation across the kingdom. Their leader, Mon Grell, was meeting with his subordinates to discuss a plan of attack against the cell chapter of Vacuo with hopes of bringing it under his grip. While the meeting underwent, a lone female bull Faunus soldier just got out of a bathroom stall after a colleague helped her with a jammed lock.

"Thanks" The soldier said.

"You're welcome, I've been trying to tell the maintenance staff that the lock on this stall needs to be fixed." The colleague, a specialist, said.

"Well, let's not speak of this moment again." The soldier said, wanting to make sure the specialist would stay silent.

"You have my word." The specialist said before leaving.

The soldier went to over to the sink, in which she started washing her hands when she began to hear an unnatural whistling sound...

" _What the hell?_ " She thought.

As she turned back to the sink, she noticed something unexplainable: a smiling Lilith appeared in the mirror while she was not behind her. Lilith stunned with a little jolt and then smashed her head into the mirror before appearing behind the soldier, with the idol in hand.

" _Nunc, mi invictum turrim, oriri meae voca._ " Lilith said in an ancient dialect as a shadowy mist disappeared into the soldier's body.

 **This chapter concludes with Lilith, an ancient Grimm sorceress that once lorded over the Grimm in general, awakening one of her servants and the first of her four lieutenants. Weiss requests the aid of Yuri, the second of Hiyori's siblings with the semblance of metal manipulation, to repair and augment the damaged _Crescent Rose_ for her. Winter reveals Ruby's survival to Yang and Tai, in which Yang prepares to go to Atlas in order to reunite with her sister alongside her uncle. The next chapter will pick up with Tower's destructive power being unveiled, Yang has a tearful reunion with Ruby, and the Menagerie chapter of the White Fang learn of a possible threat to the people of the island...**

 **WAIT AND SEE**


	7. Chapter 7: Tower of Rage

**Chapter 7: Tower of Rage**

 _ **"Come not within the measure of my Wrath."- William Shakespeare**_

 **White Fang Splinter Cell Headquarters**

 **City of Berlin, Kingdom of Atlas**

 **1:31 pm**

After the mist from the idol merged with their body, the soldier collapsed into Lilith's arms and Lilith kneeled on the ground to allow Tower to settle into the body that she had just possessed. The sorceress gently stroked the girl's hair as Tower cemented her control of her body, which was signified by the fact that her eyes had a blood-red glow to them now.

" _You are reborn, Tower._ " Lilith said in the Grimm Dialect.

" _What era has come to pass?_ " Tower asked.

" _An era when_ _Man and Faunus have mastered the land, and the traitor to us now seeks to take it all from them._ " Lilith explained.

" _That insightful cur will fall before our strength milady._ " Tower said in an infuriated tone.

" _That time will come, and we shall reclaim our power over the creatures of the dark. But first, regain your former strength by feeding on the wrath-filled individuals that call themselves "White Fang" then acquire my sister's prison from its home. Bring it to the temple while I seek out the other three._ " Lilith instructed.

" _Yes, Dark mistress._ " Tower said.

Lilith teleported to an unknown location, leaving the now-possessed soldier in the bathrooms of the hideout of the White Fang. She stood up and exited the bathroom, walking around to listen to the hateful thoughts of the White fang members, each expressing their desire to conquer the humans. Stopping in the middle of the crowd, Tower feigned illness and collapsed to the ground as if she were suffocating to death, which drew the attention of several different soldiers who wondered what the hell was happening to her...

"What the hell? Are you alright?" One of the members asked the downed soldier.

"What's going on?" The specialist asked.

"I don't know, she just collapsed." Another soldier responded.

As the soldiers crowded around her, a shadowy tentacle wrapped around the soldier performing CPR on her while two more grabbed the specialist and another follower. The pile of bodies rolled across the room towards the tracks, where it fell onto them and merged into a white cocoon with bright red light emanating from inside as it began to absorb the electricity from the line. The more electricity it absorbed, the larger the cocoon had grown before the eyes of the other White Fang members, including the commander as he had exited the room to investigate the commotion outside...

"What the hell is that thing?" Mon Grell asked.

"I don't know?!" A terrified soldier said.

After the entire line was drained of power, a towering, minotaur-esque Grimm with humanoid traits emerged from inside with a large mace made of bone in its hands, emerged from inside as the cocoon shattered like clay. A group of soldiers attempted to ram one of the automated trains into it, but the train was struck by "red lightning" that the Grimm produced and destroyed by suddenly combusting. Tower stepped off the rail line, completely unfazed by the explosion and showed no damage from it, in which Tower's most powerful secret became visible: she possessed an incredibly powerful aura that was bright red.

"Fire! Kill that thing!" A soldier shouted.

The White Fang members immediately opened fire, but Tower simply shrugged off the attacks and slammed the spikes of her mace into the ground, causing it to glow and crack. It then erupted into a violent explosion, killing several White Fang soldiers that that stood on the ground where the cracks spread to. Whatever shots from their rifles that managed to bypass the aura by sheer luck, couldn't breach the indomitable bone armor of the Grimm as it continued its assault by impaling White Fang soldiers with its mace or lashing out with a shadowy whip. Whenever a soldier was impaled on its claws, it absorbed their life energy and tossed their decayed corpses aside like they were nothing but pieces of garbage that needed to be disposed of.

"How do we stop it?!" The soldiers shouted before they were killed.

Mon Grell confronted Tower after she slaughtered the last soldier of the White Fang chapter, reducing him to a pile of rotted bones. Tower looked at the trembling man, who was shakily holding onto a large rocket launcher that he acquired from a nearby crate. She could sense that he was desperate, as she was the butcher of his entire group of soldiers and followers, and no mere weapon could stop her onslaught or penetrate her seemingly indestructible aura and armor...

"You killed all my boys, why?" Mon Grell inquired.

"Your wrathful nature fuels me, Mortal, in my eyes, you are nothing but prey for my hunger." Tower commented.

"Well, let's pray that this has enough power to kill you." Grell said as he squeezed the trigger on the launcher.

Tower, who showed little emotion, simply tapped the rocket as it got close to her and it flew into an abandoned ticket booth and detonated in a small explosion. This was Mon Grell's last effort, his last chance to avenge his former underlings' deaths at the hands of this monster, with the outcome that he dreaded would happen. Tower noticed that the man defecated and urinated himself at the same time, creating an odor she hated...

"You display weakness in my presence, an affront to the likes of me." Tower said.

"I'm sorry." Mon Grell said with a trembling voice.

"Sorry should not be in the words of a fighter. I admit that your men fought admirably to the last, but their strong hatred for humans clouded their judgment, and my hunger needs to be sated before I carry out the task assigned to me." Tower said, grabbing Mon Grell.

The man screamed as the red lighting engulfed him, reducing him to a pile of rotten bones that Tower simply dropped after she had finished. Now at her full strength, Tower teleported away as authorities swarmed into the room and into a scene of carnage and destruction. As Tower set out on her mission, Yang was about to have a reunion...

 **Stratford Central Air Hub**

 **2:34 pm**

Winter, Yang, and Qrow arrived at the central air hub to the city of Stratford, a thriving city located in the shadow of the Grant Mountains. Originally, all airship travel into the kingdom would have been directed to the capital itself, but with the Vytal conference just 2 days away, all travel was redirected to one of the outlying cities of Stratford, Hereford, or Munich. Security at the airport was high, such as armed Atlesian knights patrolling the terminal of the air hub and even heavy assault Paladin mecha on reserve at security booths that dotted either key points on the runways or in the terminal itself. After having their travel passes verified, the trio were let into the terminal's main lobby where they ran into Klein...

"Welcome home, Miss Schnee." Klein said.

"Who is this?" Yang asked.

"This is Klein, he is one of the butlers for my family." Winter said.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, you must be Miss Rose's half-sister and her uncle." Klein said, looking at Yang and Qrow.

"Nah, we're her professional groomers." Qrow snarked.

"Qrow." Winter said angrily.

"Miss Schnee warned me about your behavior, Mr. Branwen." Klein responded.

"She did now." Qrow said, looking at Winter.

"Anyway, what brings you here Klein? I suspect Ninya is with the car." Winter said.

"I wanted to inform you personally. Miss Rose still has some minor tests to undergo before she could be transferred to Cloud Banner, so she'll be staying in Florence for one more evening." Klein explained.

"Understood. Anything else?" Winter inquired.

"Well, Lady Willow has moved into Cloud Banner as well, apparently she had a falling out with your father." Klein explained.

"When don't they..." Winter said with a shrug.

Klein took Yang and Qrow's bags from them as they proceeded down to the car, which was long blue limousine with the Schnee family symbol on its doors and a girl with platinum blonde hair was waiting in a formal uniform. This was Ninya, the third sister to Hiyori, and surprisingly the only one with a valid license to drive both either a car or a motorcycle.

"Can you take us to Florence?" Winter said.

"Of course ma'am, Hiyori is on standby at the main entrance with Lady Willow to greet you upon arrival." Ninya explained.

"My Mother is at Florence?" Winter said in a confused tone.

"Hiyori thought it necessary to inform her of the situation." Ninya commented.

"Alright, let's be off." Winter said.

The group piled into the limo, while Klein put the bags of Yang and Qrow into the trunk of the vehicle before taking a seat in the passenger side of the front. They drove off to the medical facility, where Yang's days of worry would cease into memory...

 **SDC Florence Medical facility**

 **Grant Mountains, Atlas**

 **2: 39 pm**

The limo pulled up to the front of the building, in which Klein got out to open the door for Yang, Winter, and Qrow. As the trio stepped out of the vehicle, Willow Schnee, the current matriarch of the Schnee family and mother to Weiss, Winter, and their younger brother Whitley, walked down the front steps alongside Hiyori, who was in a pale, white cloak, to greet them.

"Hello, Mother." Winter said.

"Winter, it has been quite some time." Willow coldly said.

"Yes, it has." Winter said.

"These must be Miss Rose's family members, Miss Xiao Long, and...Branwen." Willow said, sounding slightly irritated.

"Yeah, it's been a long time since Munich, Willow." Qrow said.

"I didn't realize that you two were acquainted." Winter remarked.

"Your father hired a few outside huntsmen to ward off Grimm attacks near one of our mines up near Munich. Branwen just happened to be one of them." Willow explained.

"I was the one who notified your mom here about a group of huntsmen who were faking the elimination of Grimm in order to con the SDC." Qrow said.

"I see." Winter remarked.

"Past connections aside, I know you are here to see Miss Rose. Hiyori." Willow said, signaling her escort.

 **Hiyori led two Huntsmen through the Medical Facility. A slim man who wrecked of alcohol wearing a torn, red cape, walking with a slouch and his hands in his pockets- perhaps his age beginning to show. The other was a girl with lilac eyes and hair that glimmered like gold.**

 **"Is Ruby inside one of these rooms?" Yang inquired. Worry had filled in her eyes just as they had been the entire trip from Patch to Atlas.**

 **Hiyori turned as she was walking and said, "Of course, right this way."**

 **The three continued walking down the hallway. For a facility that had been built for just the Schnee Family, it could house an entire village of sick and injured should the need ever arise. Sadly, it seemed even the Moonfall wasn't such a time.**

 **"She is just through here..." Hiyori said as she stopped in front of the door with a name plate marked with a single word: Rose. "Ms. Sn-...Weiss, is tending to her as well." She then opened the door and led Yang and Qrow inside.**

 **Yang looked around at the decorum of the interior of the room with sheer amazement at the construction and design, but what caught her full attention was the girl whom she had been burdened with such concern for many weeks with in a wheelchair, and as Hiyori had said, her teammate and friend, Weiss, was sitting right next to her.**

 **Weiss had seen the tall blonde out of the corner of her eye and broke her attention from Ruby to her. With a great deal of show I and relief she brought herself to greet her two new visitors, "Hey, Yang."**

 **Yang said nothing, her gaze locked only on her sister who sat as if defeated by all and everything. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she approached Ruby, who too turned to see her older sister's face after so long. "Ruby?" Yang said finally breaking her grateful silence.**

 **"Yang?" Ruby said as she too began to cry at seeing her sister after all this time.**

 **Yang slowly approached the handicapped Ruby, looking over her injuries that polluted her once clear, porcelain skin. Overwhelmed with joy, she knelt down to her knee and carefully pulled her close, both girls cried uncontrollably with the joy of seeing that the other had managed to survive the chaos of the Night of Tears.**

 **Weiss was relieved to see that both sisters reunited, in which Yang included her into their moment by pulling the heiress close. Weiss, grateful for the friendly gesture, then brought herself out of Yang's grasp and went to lift Ruby back onto the bed. Yang nodded and helped her- more like took Ruby all to herself and placed her sister on the bed.**

 **Yang bent down to hug Ruby from the bed. "I was, *sniff*, so worried about you." Yang said as she cried with joy.**

 **"I was too." Ruby said, embracing her older sister. Then Qrow entered the room.**

 **The drunken huntsman slowly walked over to the corner of the bed closest to Ruby and sat down. He then leaned over and pulled her close to him...**

 **"It's good to see that you're still alive, pipsqueak." Qrow said.**

 **"Same to you." Ruby responded, laughing after Qrow's jab.**

 **Yang turned from Ruby and looked to Weiss, who still had a smile of relief on her face at the fact Ruby now has her family beside her. She got up and walked over to the heiress and said, "You've been taking care of her, huh?" Yang said.**

 **Weiss gave a small nod, she looked at her gloved hand and said, "Yes, she saved my life back in Vale during the chaos, now I felt that this would be the right way to repay for it."**

 **Yang pulled her close, grateful for what her friend had done for her and her sister. "Thanks for doing that." Yang said.**

 **"No problem." Weiss said as she hugged her back.**

As they enjoyed a reunion and reprieve from their troubles, things were heating up for the White Fang of Menagerie...

 **White Fang Chapter Headquarters**

 **Isle of Menagerie**

 **2:41 pm**

Culpeo was standing in the private room of the Menagerie headquarters of the White Fang, looking over a set of reports that had been delivered to the chapter and were organized on the bookshelves and filed away. As she was in the middle of looking, the Private Telecommunication System terminal that the White Fang would use to communicate between chapter headquarters, began to beep loudly. The sound caught her off guard, causing her to nearly drop the binder she was holding onto...

"We've got to get the volume on that fixed." Culpeo said as she put the binder away.

She walked over to it just as Goh entered the room, having heard the loud sound as well, and pressed a button on the console. A holographic image of a female White Fang soldier that was a Lizard Faunus without their mask appeared, with the uniform style almost identical to that of the Vacuo chapter of the Splinter Cell...

"Who is this?" Culpeo asked.

" _This is Sister Verona, I have some information that I need to warn you of._ " The soldier said.

"What is it?" Culpeo asked.

" _Buku is planning to mobilize and seize Menagerie. He has dispatched an advanced team to eliminate the Belladonnas._ " Verona said.

"What? That is a direct violation of the treaty that ensured Menagerie to be off limits in the Splinter Cell's conflict." Goh exclaimed.

" _He's getting desperate, the Vacuo Cell is getting beaten back by the White Fang Branch there. So he wants to take Menagerie in order to improve his odds._ " Verona explained.

"That fool. He is probably trying to bolster his numbers by pressing Menagerie citizens into joining his cell." Goh said.

"It would also grant him a trump card to leverage the White Fang itself into falling under his command." Culpeo commented.

"Who is leading the Advanced Team?" Goh asked.

" _The leaders are Corsac and Fennec_ _Albain, apparently Buku wants them to prove themselves because they had a falling out after a botched mission in Aswan."_ Verona responded.

Goh looked to Culpeo, was staring at the floor with her fists clenched and breathing heavily. Corsac and Fennec, the two people in the entire world of Remnant that she never wanted to see again were well on their way to attempt to seize Menagerie. Goh knew of the relationship between Culpeo and her brothers, and how much trouble it had gotten her in because of their actions.

"Why? Why those two?" Culpeo said.

"Culpeo, calm yourself." Goh said.

" _They'll be in Menagerie in 4 days, and they will not hesitate to kill anyone who stands in the way of their goal._ " Verona explained.

"Thank you Verona, where are you currently? _"_ Goh asked.

" _I am currently onboard a ship bound for Mistral, I want out of the Splinter Cell._ " Verona said.

"Be careful, I'll notify the White Fang Leadership that you're on your way." Goh said before the call terminated.

Goh turned to his colleague, who now had a determined look in her eye, as if she were trying to masquerade and tame a rising bloodlust that was surging and growing inside of her...

"Culpeo, I'll notify Sister Ilia of the incoming threat since she's currently staying at their residence to assist with their daughter's recovery." Goh explained.

"I'll notify the city guard to be on alert for those two when they arrive." Culpeo said.

"Then I want you to take a break and try to clear your head, I need you focused and ready and not drowned out by rage." Goh explained.

Culpeo departed from to carry out the task that was assigned task that was given to her, and to try and calm herself and control the rage that she was feeling towards the eminent return of the brothers that had caused her so much trouble. Goh pulled his scroll and immediately got a hold of Ilia.

"Sister Ilia, we have a situation." Goh opened with.

" _What is it?_ " Ilia asked.

"Notify the Belladonna's immediately, we have received a threat from the Vacuo branch of the Splinter cell." Goh explained.

" _What? Menagerie is Neutral territory for their conflict. If they attack us, they are jeopardizing their chance to succeed Adam_ " Ilia said in surprise.

"Anyway, they're coming for us." Goh said.

" _Alright, I'll let them know immediately."_ Ilia responded.

 **This chapter concludes with a threat towards the people of Menagerie from the Vacuo chapter of the renegade Splinter Cell that was once lead by the notorious and violent leader, Adam Taurus. Yang and Ruby have an emotional reunion in Atlas, while the destructive power of the monstrous Tower is revealed in the form of the massacre of the Atlas Splinter Cell Chapter. As a note, the four lieutenants of Lilith embody the RWBY-equivalent to the four horsemen of the apocalypse with Tower embodying War. In regards to the reunion scene, I shall explain that credit for its construction goes to PsychoSensei, a fellow Fanfiction Writer who was kind enough to edit it for me after I felt that it could be improved on. Furthermore, there will be delays to chapter releases due to my tablet being difficult to operate after accidentally being crushed in my school backpack, which makes it only difficult to operate for writing, namely typing things. Anyway, the next chapter will involve the history of Hiyori and her sisters, Lilith finding the next of her four lieutenants, and Yang learns that Ruby wasn't the only one who was hurt while in Vale.**

 **WAIT AND SEE.**


	8. Chapter 8: Wind and Greed

**Chapter 8: Wind and Greed**

 **SDC Florence Medical Facility waiting area**

 **2:59 pm**

Qrow and Willow sat in a nearby waiting area while Ruby, Weiss, and Yang caught up with one another back in the room. Willow was a reserved woman, who struggled with alcoholism due to the fact that she fell into a loveless marriage as her husband was an ignorant bastard who married her so he could take control of the SDC.

Qrow was a huntsman who chose to become an alcoholic, but never allowed it to interfere with his work as a huntsman and agent of Ozpin, while was also the uncle to both Ruby and Yang. As he sat there thinking about a way to break the awkward silence between the two, he was immediately intrigued by Hiyori, the silent cloaked bodyguard that he had rarely seen before. Working up some slight courage, Qrow immediately decided to ask the Schnee Matriarch "Hey Willow, what's the story behind your friend here?".

Willow, snapped out of her space-driven glance, decided to answer the drunken huntsman's question about Hiyori and said "Hiyori and her sisters have been my family's service for a long time. Their Mother, Satchia, was rescued from her abusive parents and taken in by Nicholas during the days of the rising SDC, Her mother would violently beat and torture her." She took a sip of wine and continued "While her father would use her as a guinea pig for his research on aura and semblance. What crossed the line was when Satchia's mother sold her to a Foreman at the mine for one night, in which Satchia was raped and found by Nicholas sometime later. She got along with Nicholas and helped him out in different situations, so he repaid her kindness by assisting her. Her aunt, who worked as a maid in the main house, gained custody of the girl while her mother and the foreman who raped Satchia were fired and her father was arrested for illegal human experimentation... "

"Oh, I see." Qrow responded in a nonchalant tone to the story.

Willow looked at him with irritation as a form of signal that she was not finished talking to him. "Anyway, Satchia transitioned from a servant to Nicholas' closest confidant and advisor as well as his bodyguard. She eventually married a nice fellow, and they had four children together, which were Hiyori, Yuri, Maria, and Ninya, and lived with Nicholas until the day Satchia had fallen ill and was going to die." She took another sip of her wine and continued "This was just before Jacques approached Nicholas, in which she convinced him to establish a safeguard in his will to protect her daughters from Jacques as she saw "nothing but greed and malice in his heart." So Nicholas instituted a clause in his will that custody and responsibility of Hiyori and her siblings would fall to the Matriarch of the Schnee name, and the Patriarch would have no authority over them." Willow explained.

Qrow let out a snicker, finding it humorous to find out that Jacques couldn't do whatever he wanted with the girls, but mainly that the old bastard didn't have all the power after all. "So, Jacques has no authority over their role to your family after all huh." The drunken huntsman said to the silent bodyguard.

Hiyori simply looked to the man, took a breath and said "My sisters and I hold loyalty to Lady Willow and her daughter, as we mostly trust them than Whitley or Jacques."

The Huntsman was impressed by the response that Hiyori had given him, this cloaked warrior was faithful and trustworthy as the most loyal bodyguard for anyone to have. "You certainly have a good grasp on loyalty. Now I see why Willow here trusts you so well." He casually said to Hiyori, sounding impressed with her perks.

Hiyori suddenly jolted as if she remembered something that she needed to say,"Oh, there is something that I've been meaning to mention when we first met, Mr. Branwen." Qrow and Willow were suddenly intrigued, so Qrow asked "Okay, what is it?", Willow followed up with "Oh yes, you should have told him about that matter earlier."

Hearing Willow's response, Qrow immediately grew both curious and suspicious to what was not told to him.

"While Miss Rose was comatose, Weiss entrusted me to guard her in case her brother had any sinister intentions for her while she was incapacitated." Hiyori explained to the huntsman, who leaned back in relief as his suspicion was just unwarranted. As he relaxed, Qrow casually responded with "That's nice of both her and you."

The trio relaxed after that discussion, and wondered what would become of Ruby once she had fully healed from her injuries. Willow figured Jacques will try to bill Ruby's family, but remembered that Weiss got Ruby access to the facility as one of the "special exceptions" that the family members are allowed to give so that wouldn't be an option. Qrow suspected that Ruby's status as a Vale Citizen may cause issues, in which Ruby would be returned to Vale while Weiss was under scrutiny for bringing her here to Atlas. Hiyori considered both of their options, theorizing that Jacques may try to profit on Ruby's stay in Florence due to Ruby's lowborn status and suspected that the Atlas Council will try to take matters into their own hands on the matter regarding her presence and suspect that conspiracy theories in the Kingdom of Vale will suspect the SDC of kidnapping a child of Vale. Hiyori suddenly remembered something and said to Willow "Lady Willow, did Klein ever inform you of the certain...issue that Weiss has been dealing with?".

"Issue? What issue are you talking about?" The Schnee Matriarch inquired, which cemented the worst fears of Hiyori as she hoped that Willow would be notified of the fact that Weiss has been traumatized.

She let out a sigh and said "While Weiss was in Vale, after the incident that resulted in Miss Rose's injuries, Miss Schnee discovered that Miss rose was knocked on top her by the explosion that injured her. Upon awakening from her dazed state, Weiss discovered that the hand that had landed onto Miss Rose's abdomen was painted crimson by the blood from Miss Rose's wounds."

Hearing this, both the Matriarch and huntsman were caught off guard by this information, in which Qrow let out "Damn." while Willow let out a *gasp* at hearing that. Qrow, instinctively sensing that there was more for her to say, immediately asked "I'm guessing there's a reason for why you're telling us this?".

Hiyori nodded at the experienced huntsman's response and said "Klein and I both took notice of a slight tremble to her hand, as well as her choice to conceal it behind a glove. Both he and I agree that the ordeal has left Weiss traumatized."

Both Willow and Qrow were immediately caught off guard by this, Weiss being traumatized by the sight of Ruby's blood on her hand, which left Willow concerned for her daughter while Qrow was shell shocked at the news. Hiyori remembered a moment that cemented her belief that Weiss was traumatized, when she caught Weiss one evening washing the hand that she had covered by the glove profusely as if there was still a stain left behind from the blood that wouldn't go way, before breaking down emotionally at the sight.

While the trio talked, Lilith was about to find one of her old lieutenants.

* * *

 **The Witch's Eye**

 **3:00 pm**

The Witch's eye was a small area of elevated sea rock and islands resembled an eye staring into the sky, and that any sea-faring ship would know never to sail through. The site was shrouded in mystery, as ships would be reported to have vanished there or even Grimm would dare not set foot, tentacle, or fin inside as if something there had them terrified. This made it the perfect place to hide, as no one would consider to look inside it for illegal contraband, dangerous fugitives, or even confiscated goods or materials stolen by pirates. A dark portal opened atop one of the rocks close to a wreck of what resembled an ancient pirate ship of Mistral design that was reduced to a few intact floors and the walls had decayed around , in which Lilith emerged from within and approached the wreck with a malicious smile on her face. "Ah, the _Sterben_ , Laz's pride and joy, but also his prison when the humans drove him into it and stole his Geist mask to prevent him from gaining a physical shell." The Grimm sorceress mused while looking at the wreck. A small, shadow-like portal appeared in which Lilith reached her hand into it and pulled out a bone mask that wasn't like any normal one that were normally seen on regular Grimm.

The mask was shaped like a broken crescent, with a jagged pattern going down the side and a single eye in the center of the shape. Lilith simply smirked at the mask and said "Thankfully, the humans didn't do a good job of hiding it from me" and then proceeded to enter the wreck. She walked along the partially rotted floors of one deck, passing by the skeletons of ancient humanoids with similar masks. The sorceress knew who they were, the former crew of the _Sterben,_ in which she looked around to find where Laz's prison was located. Reaching the vault, the only part of the ship that remained mostly intact and found the prison; a large box with a silver cage around it.

"That's just wasteful use of material." Lilith snarked as a funny joke. She grabbed the bars of the cage, lifted it up and threw it to the side like it was simply paper Mache and then proceeded to break the rusted lock on the box and reveal its contents: a large pool of bubbling black liquid. Dropping the mask inside, Lilith immediately dropped the mask into the liquid, along with a faded, worn sailor's hat, and said "Rise in Shine, Laz."

The hat and mask moved together, in which the mask started to glow and a body began to form. The Liquid sprayed out of the case like a geyser, transforming into a humanoid body mixed with traits of the Geist species of Grimm, such as a skeletal arm and large open areas of the torso and legs. The body appeared as if he were a young man, but the right side of his face was covered by the mask, and his body was covered by a torn long coat, a faded frilled shirt, a long black belt with a rusted buckle, and hole-riddled black pants and only one boot on his left foot as his other leg was bone and skeletal.

"Welcome back, Laz." Lilith said to her lieutenant as he stretched out his newly recovered limbs, in which he responded to his mistress' words by saying "Yes, Milady, it feels fantastic to be back in this world." After finishing his stretches, he picked up a set of cutlasses and their sheathes, saying to Lilith "I've missed these beauties, since they were a present from you, I never let these edges dull." The Geist said as he reattached them to his belt before looking at the scenery.

"If you wondering about your ship, it's currently stranded inside the Witch's Eye." Lilith said to him, causing him to shiver as if he had been feeling chills shooting up his spine that was not there. "The Witch's eye, that's why my crew is so...LAZY!" Laz exclaimed in a tone that sounded monstrous, in which shadows on board the ship began to move towards each skeleton and seize control of it. The skeletons transformed into other humanoid Geist, in which they gathered around Laz and Lilith, taking a knee due to Lilith's status. Laz turned to his superior, took a breath, and asked " So milady, what can we do for you? There is obviously a reason for our awakening."

"You guessed correct, the insightful cur who overthrew me and my sister seeks to destroy the balance as she has the humans' and Faunus' backs to the wall." The sorceress explained to her servant, which angered both Laz and his crew as they expressed their anger as either a deep growl or clenched hands. Laz tightly gripped the handles of his blades, then spoke "So, Salem still pursues to dominate the world and abuses her stolen power."

"Yes, Tower is already searching for Jezebel, so I want you and your crew to get back into fighting shape. Sharpen your skills and regain your talents, then I want you to return to the temple so we can convene to discuss a plan of attack once I have acquired Balthazar and Ithriel." Lilith instructed her servant. "Yes, Mistress." Laz responded as the sorceress teleported away, leaving the Geist alone with his crew to talk and plan.

"Alright, you pieces of Nevermore droppings, time for a century long nap is over. Now I want to see this ship back in working order, We do not want to disappoint lady Lilith now do we?" Laz said to motivate the crew into getting to work on rebuilding and repairing this ship for departure. "There's a whole world of scum and villainy that we can use for practice on getting our levels up! Get going!" The Geist shouted.

The crew immediately began gather both building materials and organisms such as large fish or aquatic Grimm of different kinds and dragged them to the _Sterben,_ applying the materials to the areas where they needed to go and using pieces of the captive Grimm to revitalize the ship and awaken its ancient magic. The ship was completed in a matter of minutes, and Laz raised it into the air, dropping it into the waters outside the Witch's eye and darkened the clouds above them in order to add a vibe of mystery to their approach.

"Our mistress has given us our orders, let's set fourth and remind the world what plagues the seas and rules the night." Laz proclaimed. The crew cheered at the proclamation of their captain in the form of loud, banshee-like screams that could be heard for miles. The _Sterben_ set out to accomplish the task assigned to them by Lilith. Laz reveled in the fact that he was now free to roam the seas again after being imprisoned for millennia in which they saw a large vessel, in which he saw a lone freighter that was sailing on its own. In the language of the pirates: vessels that are on their own or either one of two things, "prey" or "Practice", in which Laz decided to use the vessel for practice on regaining the strength he lost as it was coincidental that his blades spread affliction and plague and he feeds of the agony and negative emotion produced by those suffering from disease.

As the Grimm captain and his crew set out to reclaim their lost strength, Yang was about to learn something about Weiss...

* * *

 **SDC Florence Medical Facility**

 **Ruby's recovery room**

 ** **3:10 pm****

Weiss, Yang, and a bed-resting Ruby talked amongst themselves since they had been apart for such a long time since the Moonfall. They enjoyed some tea that was brought to them by Hiyori, who then joined them since Qrow and Willow decided to talk amongst themselves privately. Yang sat close to Ruby, keeping the plate for the tea cup balanced on her leg while Weiss and Ruby both held onto their cups and plates.

Yang took a sip of her tea before saying "So, you decided to play the hero huh?" in a scolding tone to Ruby.

Ruby, feeling slightly ashamed by Yang's words, simply responded to her sister with "I know, but as a team leader, I have a responsibility to making sure that my teammates survive any calamity that occurs."

This answer seemed to satisfy Yang, while Weiss felt responsible for what happened to her. "Still, I'm glad that you're alive and Dad is too. He would've love to come visit you since you woke up." Yang commented in a joyous tone.

"What is keeping him from coming to visit? Why did Qrow come instead?" Weiss inquired from her friend.

Yang took another sip of her tea and responded with "My Dad had been busy with trying to get things under control back in Vale, plus that big Vytal conference is tomorrow, so he's going to probably placed onto the security detail with hundreds and dozens of other huntsmen and huntresses to make sure no one disrupts the event."

This response triggered a sense of relief from Weiss, in which she picked up her tea cup in which she noticed something immediately off. Both Yang and Ruby immediately noticed that Weiss' glove-covered hand had begun to tremble and shake violently, which alarmed Hiyori as she hadn't seen it shake this bad before.

She set down her cup and took Weiss' from her so she wouldn't drop it and then grasped Weiss' lower forearm with one hand while resting her other hand on Weiss' shoulder and saying "You're alright, Weiss, concentrate on your breathing and it will fade." Hiyori said to her ward.

Weiss immediately started to breathe carefully regulated breaths, in which the shaking in her hand faded away and prompted Ruby to ask "Weiss, has there been something bothering you?"in a very concerned tone. Weiss immediately sighed, which would normally be seen if someone's secret had been figured. She turned to Ruby and said "Okay, after you were injured in the explosion, you landed on top of me back first. Like normal, the hand that I wear a glove over now was the one that made contact with your torso as soon as we fell back." Weiss explained before resting her head on Ruby's lap.

"Okay, that doesn't explain why you decided to wear the glove though?" Yang said before silencing herself, noticing tears slowly form in her friend's eyes.

Ruby immediately pick up on it as Weiss' voice began to crack as she said "And when I lifted my hand to try and get you off of me, it was * _sniff*_ soaked in so much of your blood." Weiss tearfully explained, shocking both sisters with her words and detail. Ruby responded to her friend's trauma by carefully resting her hand on Weiss' head and gently stroked her hair.

"Did you know this?" Yang asked the silent Hiyori, who was standing there patiently as Weiss revealed her pain.

Hiyori looked the golden-haired girl and said "I was there when the tremble in her hand first developed, in which she explained to me the situation that had transpired." The guardian explained to Yang.

Weiss then picked herself back up, in which she continued to explain the situation to her friends "That was the first time that I ever had the blood of someone else on my hands, as well as their life hanging in my own hands as well." Weiss tearfully said to her friends and Beacon teammates.

Ruby immediately pulled Weiss into a hug, and was joined by Yang after she walked around the bed to do so, in Weiss broke down at the fact that her friends would be there for her in this trying time. After a few minutes, Weiss calmed down and said "Thanks you guys, I seriously needed that." as she dried her tears.

Ruby simply shot Weiss the sweetest smile that would make any person happy and said "Of course, we're your friends after all. If you ever need someone to talk to, you will always have me, Yang, and Hiyori if she can." Hiyori acknowledged what Ruby said with a nod, in which Yang found it reliving to see Ruby smile again.

As they enjoyed their happy reunion, Someone was about to make a startling discovery...

* * *

 **Deserted SDC Mine**

 **Saladin Plains, Vacuo.**

 **6:00 pm.**

In Vacuo, the chaos of the Moonfall had systematically damaged the environment of Vacuo as dust that was leaking into the local sandstorms that would normally plague the region due to its mostly desert climate. Now, if a civilian was caught in the middle of a sandstorm, they would risk freezing, burning, electrocution, or sometimes all 3 at once.

Though Vacuo was recovering, the local crime elements tried to monopolize territory and seize resources that could go to refugees and offer them exchange for money or fairer treatment. Gangs would sometimes loot abandoned farms, stores, and would raid supply caravans and claim the supplies for themselves in a manner equivalent to that of a schoolyard bully.

A group of violent thugs took refuge from a storm within a much older SDC mine that was abandoned before the Moonfall ever happened. The leader, a tall brute of man, was irritated at their latest failure on a caravan raid and expressed it by exclaiming "GODDAMN IT!" at a volume that shocked his men after they risked their necks getting to shelter.

"Calm down boss, you don't want to attract Grimm." One of his underlings said in a cautious tone, which the Boss responded by delivering a swift blow to his face and responding with "I am going to be furious since you idiots cannot seem to fucking do anything right!". Just before he could exclaim anything again, the Raider boss and his allies were interrupted by a loud clicking sound as hundreds of desert insects began to flee deeper into the mines...

"What's got them running?" said a dim-witted raider that was immediately silenced by his partner who said..

"They must be searching for some way out that's deeper in the mine. Let's go."

The Boss and the raiders made their way deeper into the mine in order to investigate. The raiders walked down the mine tunnel, passing by crystal deposits of dust that suddenly rejuvenated, and found that the bugs reached into a collapsed wall that appeared to enter some kind of ruin. "Do you think this place is why the mine closed?" A raider asked his comrades.

The Boss responded with "I don't know, but I think that big guy in the crystals is what's attracting them."

The raiders all looked to the crystals in which they saw a towering, muscular Grimm that had insectoid-like qualities and three large fire dust crystals protruding from his back and ice dust crystals lining his tail. It was immobilized by the crystals, but it did not evaporate like any average Grimm. The cautious underling let out a small *shriek* before the Boss immediately said "That thing must be ancient, otherwise it would have evaporated into nothingness by now." Before any of the other raiders could suggest a theory about the mysterious Grimm that was before them, they were interrupted by the sound of a Female's laughter coming from the path that they had taken to reach the ruins in the first place.

Turning around, they came face to face with Lilith, who had the widest smile on her face as she said "Hello, boys. You just made my job of finding him a hell of a lot easier."

 **This chapter is written in a different style than normal because I am starting a new transition. But it concludes with Lilith discovering Balthazar, the third of her four lieutenants, after awakening Laz, the second. Willow and Qrow were made aware to the mental trauma that now plagued Weiss after the incident in Vale, just as Ruby and Yang were as well. To add onto my delay, I will be having these chapters edited in order to make sure that I don't do at least few mistakes as possible. The next chapter will pick up with Team JNPR becoming aware to Ruby's survival, Balthazar awakens, the Vytal conference begins to form a new organization to deal with the effects of the Moonfall incident, and Salem makes an appearance to warn her agents of the looming threat to their plans for the future.**

 **WAIT AND SEE.**


	9. Chapter 9: Dust Filled Chitin

**Chapter 9: Dust-filled Chitin**

 **Abandoned SDC Mine**

 **6:01 pm**

The raiders were in a tense standoff with the Grimm sorceress, who started walking towards them with a smile remaining on her face. The raiders suspected that she was going to awaken that crystalized and preserved Grimm, so kept their weapons trained on her and blocked her path into the ruins to try and prevent her from reaching the Grimm inside, but she simply turned into shadow and flew right past them. The Raider Boss turned to Lilith as she approached the insectoid Grimm and said "So you know what that thing is?"

Lilith turned and looked at the Boss in disgust before saying "That "thing" is named Balthazar, and he is one of my lieutenants so he is deserving of a little respect, you insolent dog." She turned back towards the Crystalized Grimm and continued "You are looking at the strongest warrior in Remnant's history, as he was able to subjugate the great beast that once plagued the skies of Saunas. His dust abilities came from my dear sister, as he willingly underwent a slight experiment to see how the dust that you humans relied on would affect a member of his species." She explained as she applied pulled out a small bottle filled with a pearlescent liquid from a portal similar to the one that she used to retrieve Laz's mask. The raiders watched as she applied small droplets of the liquid to a select area of the crystal.

The boss decided to speak up as she put the bottle back through a small portal and said "Well, ma'am, what did you just apply to that crystal?" Lilith turned to the nervous Raider and simply said "It's a brew, he absolutely adored this nectar brew as it could revitalize him whenever he was weakened or debilitated." The raiders watched as the crystal around the Grimm began to crack and fracture violently, and the Grimm's eyes began to glow very brightly in a scarlet-red as it began to smash through the crystal that encased it whole. After the crystals around his insect-like feet broke, He turned to Lilith and kneeled before her and said in a rough, dry voice "My queen, it is good to be in your honorable presence again after millennia of slumber."

"It is the same to you, old friend." Lilith responded to her subordinate lieutenant's words. The raiders trembled before the now-awakened Grimm, who looked to them and inquired "What on earth are these creatures doing before us? And how did they come by such odd weapons?" which Lilith responded to his questions with "The humans and Faunus of this era have accelerated beyond meager spears, slings, and the bow and arrows that you are accustomed to."

"So, they have transcended from primitive weapons then. But what of that treacherous worm that usurped your mantle?" Balthazar inquired and caused Lilith grit her teeth. She took a breath and spoke "Salem has abused the power of her position for too long, and has beaten the children of the light into the corner." This response provoked anger from the newly awakened titan, as he clamped the two mandibles that hanged from his mouth and steam blasted out from the sides of his bone faceplate. His three-fingered hands clenched tightly, in which he slammed his right fist into the rock beside him, causing it to crack and split around an imprint of his fist.

"I know you would love to deliver her judgment yourself, but you have much to learn about the changed world. Regain your strength by starting with these fools, then see if you could round up a few beasts to command and bring them to the temple." Lilith ordered her servant before teleporting away. Balthazar acknowledged his orders and proceeded to generate weapons from dust, namely halberds and short swords, and proceeded to slaughter the raiders as they desperately opened fire on him in order to try and kill him. Afterwards, a mysterious man in a suit emerge from the shadows of a nearby mine tunnel after Balthazar departs from the mine into a teleportation portal to carry out his task...

He turned to the mutilated remains of the raiders, which were now being broken down and consumed by a swarm of insects that were hiding within the mines. He pulled out his scroll and took a photograph of the grisly scene, and departed the mine to board a ship to Scholar's Island, a private island off the western coast of Vale. As he entered Vale waters, he pulled out his scroll and contacted an outside number, saying "This is Pendragon, I have confirmation that the Dark queen has returned."

As "Pendragon" reported to his superiors, Team JNPR was about to make a surprise discovery while on their way back to their hotel in Atlas...

* * *

 **Outside the Hotel Rudolph**

 **City of Strasburg, Kingdom of Atlas.**

 **7:30 pm**

The city of Strasburg was located in the shadow of the towering Grant Mountain range, and it was nicknamed the "Sleeping City" as it was traditionally blanketed by snow in the winter. While most of Atlas relied on the military industry, Strasburg was a popular vacation resort for both the rich and common folk, as it was filled with popular ski resorts and popular indoor waterparks for attendees of all ages to enjoy. But in the wake of the tragedy of the Moonfall, the once popular place now housed displaced refugees from the city of Berga, which stood approximately 11 miles away as the floodwaters of the tsunami stopped inches away from them after leveling thousands of kilometers of landscape.

After arriving in Atlas, team JNPR was dropped off by Sonny outside the hotel Rudolph as he said "You won't have to worry about deciding which room to get, I got you guys set up in a couple of rooms on the 15th floor." Sonny explained to the kids.

"Thanks, Sonny. See you tomorrow." Pyrrha said before Sonny drove away to wherever he was staying. The team gathered their bags and got ready to move inside, when Nora began to hear a voice that sounded familiar to her and the others started to hear it too. Looking up the street, the kids were immediately stunned as they saw the most unexpected individuals to see in the kingdom of Atlas. Team JNPR looked to see Weiss and Yang, with the latter pushing a wheelchair-bound figure in what appeared to be a hooded track suit with the bandages on her hands being visible, exiting a clothing store with a couple of bags in hand.

"The people working here are very nice." Ruby commented as Yang closed the door behind them after guaranteeing that Ruby was fully out of the doorway.

"Of course, my family has been coming to this place for quite a while whenever we need clothes tailored." Weiss explained to her teammates as they were unaware of Team JNPR slowly making their way towards them. Before Yang could speak her piece, they were interrupted by the sound of Ren clearing his throat.

"You guys, what are you doing here?" Yang inquired in an overjoyed tone at seeing her friends before her, moving to hug them.

"We volunteered on a relief tour, what you doing here?" Jaune inquired as Pyrrha curiously looked at the hooded individual with curiosity as she desired to discern their identity.

"So, what brings you out here Yang? I thought you'd be home on Patch." Ren asked his friend as the hooded figure reached up to her hood and pushed it back, revealing her identity as none other than Ruby herself.

"Because she's here to see me." Ruby said in a slight, joking tone to her shell-shocked friends that were staring at her with widened eyes.

The members of Team JNPR were completely shocked at the state that their friend was in, bound in a wheelchair and covered in bandages. Tears formed in the eyes of Jaune and Pyrrha, who wasted no time hugging their friend who hugged them both back while Ren and Nora looked on in total shock. Team JNPR checked into their rooms to drop off their bags and materials, then joined Weiss, Yang, and Ruby over in a nearby café for a late night dinner and receive a full explanation of what had transpired that resulted in the young huntress from Vale arriving in the Kingdom of Atlas...

"Wow, that's pretty brutal." Jaune said after taking a large sip of his _People Like Grapes_ soda.

"I know, Weiss had front row tickets to the whole scenario." Ruby responded to her friend after taking a bite of her sandwich.

"That must have been hell for you." Pyrrha said to the SDC heiress, who was eating some of the salad that she had ordered for herself.

"Yeah, it kind of was for a while. But I am grateful for some people in the servants who were kind enough to stand by me, and Yang as well." Weiss said, catching the golden-haired girl's attention.

"It was a straight up emotional butt-kicking for both me and my dad. Hearing that Ruby was alive was the greatest relief for him after the stressful days that he went through." Yang commented to Weiss' response.

"So, what have you guys been up to?" Ruby inquired from her friends, who were taking bites from their meals as well.

"We were recruited by Pumpkin Pete's to help out on a relief tour around the kingdoms." Nora said before eating more of her burger

From that moment, the group explained the things that they did as a part of the tour and the things that they had seen in the refugee zones in Mistral and Vale. Ruby was mortified by what had happened to Vale and its people, but was even more surprised by what happened to Beacon...

"So, Beacon's been knocked out?" Ruby said, taking a sip of her tall glass of water carefully.

Pyrrha swallowed another bite from her salad, then responded to her friend's response by saying "Yep, Ozpin has given all students leave time until the CCT can be brought back online and the campus can be repaired and restored. So, a large sum of the students have either resigned to spend time with their families or volunteer at the refugee zone since 2/3rds of the city had to be evacuated."

"The ash cloud over the two thirds of the city is quite big. Plus, it gets super cold when night comes around. " Yang added on to Pyrrha's explanation to her younger sister.

"Yikes, that sounds terrifying to be in. I'd be a Ruby Rose-cicle if I ever lived in that area while the ash cloud sits there." Ruby commented, prompting a slight chuckle from her compatriots and sister.

"Anyway, how long do you expect to be out of commission for? There's going to be a lot of people that are going be demanding hugs from you since you're alive." Ren said.

"Doctors say I'll be able to move my arms in 360 motions again in a few weeks, though I won't be doing any running for awhile until they can guarantee my spine won't have any trouble." Ruby explained to her friends and sister.

"Well, you are in the best hands around. Dr. Sorenson and those at the Florence Institute are some of the best caregivers and medical researchers in the Kingdom of Atlas." Weiss said, sounding slightly cocky about it.

They let out a chuckle at the fact Weiss acted all proud at the fact that the doctors were excellent in their practice. After they finished their meals and paid their checks, the group gathered outside to talk for one final time before they had to retire to their perspective destinations.

"So, we have to get back to the hotel since we've got to be at the relief zone tomorrow." Jaune said.

"Yeah, we best get back to the estate because we have to get this pain in the butt back in bed." Weiss commented.

"We hope that you recover quickly, Ruby. Beacon wouldn't be the same without you if you were unable to return." Pyrrha said.

"I will, Pyrrha, I intend to kick butt at school and I don't intend on wasting it lying in bed." Ruby Commented as the car for the trio pulled up and parked

Team JNPR shared some departing hugs with Ruby before leaving the trio to help the wheelchair bound girl into the long, black car that had arrived to pick them up. As those kids had their fun, history was about to be written on the very next day...

* * *

 **Hall of World Legacy**

 **Island Of Vytal, Coast of the Kingdom of Vale.**

 **8:00 am**

 **The Next Morning.**

Thousands of people had gathered in front of the Hall of World Legacy, a historical site that once hosted the very first Vytal Conference that ended the Great War. Now, in the wake of the international tragedy that was known as the "Moonfall" by the Governments, but to the people it was known as the "Night of Tears" as many lives had been lost in the aftermath of the event. This historical site was now hosting the Second Vytal Conference, with its sole topic being the creation of a proper response and organization to develop countermeasures and new ways to help the world heal from this disaster. News reporters from different stations and nations gathered around, filming the scenery as dignitaries from Vacuo, Atlas, Mistral, and Vale made their way towards the building.

"Lisa, this is a historical gathering today..." One reporter said.

"...The entire world has set their eyes on Vytal today as the first Vytal Conference since the end of The Great War is about to begin." An Atlas Reporter said.

"It has been weeks since the tragedy of the Moonfall, and the world has only one question: How is the Conference going to help us all?" A Vale reporter said.

All dignitaries proceeded into the main meeting hall and took their seats at the round table. The representatives for the conference totaled at 3 for each representative nation and each representative group would have copies of status updates regarding the kingdoms. The 3 dignitaries that were representing Atlas were Councilor MacArthur and two other individuals, Commanding General of the Defense Marshalls of Atlas Isaac Metz, and head of Atlas Bureau of Scientific Development Dr. Friedrich Eins. The dignitaries representing the Kingdom of Mistral were Councilor Hayden Reyes and Ambassador Shakan Spierre, with Mistral Defense Force commander Dryden Morrow. The Vacuo representatives were Ambassador Will Harkin, Councilor Lulu Kahuna, and Former Miner turned Environmentalist Leon Fairfax of the Vacuo Desert Research Institute. Finally, Vale was represented by Councilor Malcolm Hayden, City Service Chairman Denise Carlisle, and Representative Darius Hawthorne as the man was representing the civilians who had lived in the Safe Zone as the citizens desired a say in how things would proceed.

"Greetings, everyone. By now, you can obviously guess as to the reason that this conference was called." Councilor MacArthur explained as he stood up to address the other dignitaries.

"Yes, we all saw the decorative piece that's hanging in Vale's airspace." Councilor Reyes commented as he referred to the Ash cloud that sat over the city.

"The Ash Cloud that has officially grounded my Kingdom's central air fleet for travel and Military purposes is solely just one of the major issues on the agenda today." Councilor Hayden said in response to Reyes' comment.

"Each of our kingdoms are suffering in some manner, this Moonfall incident was the largest phenomenon that had occurred in history, so no one is different when it comes to suffering." Ambassador Spierre commented.

"We need a plan of action to address the issues created by this tragedy. So, let us look over the damage assessment report copies that have been laid out for us." MacArthur explained.

All dignitaries flipped through the packets that sat in front of them, looking over the details that lined their pages. Some of the dignitaries' faces shifted through the emotions of shock and surprise upon learning of the details that affected the other nations while they showed no reaction to the page that described their specific countries. MacArthur wasn't surprised by this, as each dignitary and representative that was in the room had witnessed the horrors first hand of the drastic changes that had occurred in their backyard. As soon as they were done reading, each of the dignitaries carefully set down the information packets that they read and the first to speak was one of the Atlas dignitaries...

"So, the Ash Cloud that cuts off Vale's air travel is composed solely of dust, stone particles, and actual ash left over from the Impact?" Dr. Eins said in a formal tone through his thick accent.

"That's right, our own scientists have been looking for a way to disperse the cloud in order to properly begin the repairs on the Beacon Academy CCT tower as the current crews up there have been basically working with boxes of scraps." Councilor Hayden explained to the scientist.

"I see. What you would need to properly disperse the cloud is a high-yield laser that can disperse the cloud properly. Then, you would need something to break up the remaining traces of the cloud so no traces may remain." Eins explained looking at the notes.

"That's some interesting input to share with us, doctor." Councilor Reyes commented.

"That's the overall goal of this conference. We need to collaborate before a tragedy on the scale of the moonfall occurs again." Councilor MacArthur responded to the councilor of Mistral.

"But how are we going to address this matter? All of our kingdoms are incapacitated." Ambassador Spierre commented on the Atlas councilor's statement.

"The report says that Mistral is suffering from massive wildfires that have engulfed 30% of the southern half of your territory. I'm guessing that you are saying that Mistral is incapacitated as you chose to mass allocate resources to refugee relief efforts and countering both the flames and the Grimm." Metz commented to the Ambassador of Mistral.

"Well, we have made our decisions." Spierre said as he took a sip from his coffee.

"Anyway, we need to get our focus back on the task at hand. We need to establish a form of agency to counter events of the kind of scale that we just went through." MacArthur said to the dignitaries in a loud tone.

"What do you propose, Atlas Councilor?" Fairfax inquired from MacArthur.

"As you know, Atlas may be prepared for a military response but this disaster has crippled our infrastructure and has heavily damaged our defense. To make matters worse for all of us, the CCT got punched out with the loss of Beacon's tower and any form of Global communications is impossible." MacArthur explained.

"Vacuo has been devastated by the dust-filled sandstorms that now ravage the landscape. We've had to evacuate entire settlements to get ahead of the storms, and dust production has gone down as a few crucial mines have been destroyed. Has Jacques Schnee thrown a fit about that yet?" Fairfax explained to the dignitaries.

"That's why I am proposing the formation of an agency to develop research into the development and creation of countermeasures and defenses against threats like the Moonfall. In addition, this agency would also provide countermeasure defenses against the Grimm that will be taking advantage of the chaos." MacArthur explained to the dignitaries.

"But how will be organized? Not to mention that outside parties will be interested in acquiring the group your are proposing to form's secrets for either personal gain." Commander Morrow pointed out.

"That's why one kingdom to oversee it will not be enough. The organization will be overseen by a joint-collaborative council established from among the nations present in this very room, and should incidents of either corruption or attempts to sell secrets of any projects that the organization develops will have appropriate punishments carried out by the Councilors together." MacArthur said.

The dignitaries talked out the details that had been explained to them amongst themselves to view each other's stances on the matter. Vale and Vacuo sounded intrigued by the idea of a collaborative group, as the issues plaguing their kingdoms cannot be solved solely by themselves. Mistral, on the other hand, questioned several details about the organization and how the variables in question would be resolved properly and how the consequences of such could affect the reputation and representation of each perspective nation. The deliberation of the groups was broken up by the sound of Morrow standing up and raising his voice...

"YOU BETTER START BEING SERIOUS ABOUT THIS." Morrow said with a booming voice, surprising both groups.

"A threat like the Moonfall is nothing to take lightly, Defense Commander Morrow." MacArthur said in response to the commander.

"Well, if you say that you still want to go through with this little plan of yours, fine. It seems that you have a strong plan going for you, after all, but I have a few things that I have to question about it so lets go over every detail of this plan of yours and work it out." The Mistral Commander said in a reserved tone.

"Of course. That is why it is a Joint-Kingdom organization that we are proposing after all." MacArthur said in a collected tone.

"Okay, to start, have you picked out a name for this little venture of yours?" Morrow asked.

"The current running name for the organization is the Strategic Defense Initiative. How's that?" MacArthur said.

As the Vytal Conference Council discussed the formation of an organization, the notorious ruler of the Grimm was becoming aware of the now rising threat that has been hard at work to destroy everything that she has created into existence...

* * *

 **Agent of Salem Safe house**

 **Kingdom of Vacuo.**

 **9:30 am**

A single Seer Grimm made its way into the building and witnessed a scene of brutal carnage and destruction. The main room that it had entered was a grisly scene, as the mutilated bodies of several individuals littered the room as they were slumped over tables that were on their sides, crushed under fallen columns, and others were violently torn to pieces. Through the eyes of another seer, Salem, alongside her subordinates Hazel Rainart and Arthur Watts observed the scene alongside their mistress...

"None of the agents survived?" Watts said in a surprised tone.

"This doesn't seem to be the work of an agency that seeks to stop us, but instead a reckless, impulsive animal." Hazel commented in his usual stern tone of voice.

"Animal, yes, reckless and impulsive, no." Salem said in response to her underling.

Both men were surprised by the response that their superior had given them, turning their attention to Salem's facial expressions as she looked at the scene of carnage. Her expression was analytical, as if she had been purposely surveying the scene to study the pattern of the attack and the style of the wounds that had been inflicted upon the followers. When she was done looking at the wounds, the witch clapped her hands together as she came to a conclusion...

"I know who has carried out the attack on our people." Salem said, sounding convinced and determined about the identity of the attacker.

"Oh? Who do you know in your entire lifetime can carry out an attack like this?" Watts inquired from her.

"It is a Grimm that does not serve me...Ithriel." Salem said, sounding infuriated just by saying the very name.

The two gentlemen were shell-shocked by the fact their leader was infuriated by a Grimm and just by saying its name had her antagonized. This meant that this "Ithriel" was dangerous enough to cause trouble for Salem and her plans for the world, as she felt only anger towards the Grimm.

"Why doesn't this Ithriel serve you? You have complete mastery and control of the entire race of the Grimm." Hazel commented.

"Because I didn't rule the Grimm at first, and she has been altered to be absolutely loyal to her master to the very end." Salem explained to her two subordinates.

"That is surprising to know, that even you were once the subordinate to someone before you inherited your position of power." Watts said in a slightly amused tone.

"My predecessor was weak, she let herself be clouded by some self-proclaimed ideology of balance that was holding our people back." Salem commented in an irritated tone of voice, like talking of the individual made her want to vomit.

The two men looked at each other, surprise and confusion painted their faces as their superior described to them the fact that she had someone that she despised. Salem then clapped her hands together to get the attention of her subordinates, continuing her speech...

"Hazel, I want you to try and get in touch with our agents in Mistral and Vale, warn them to avoid the normal safehouses as much as possible due to the possibility that either Ithriel or one of her colleagues will mobilize and attack the site." Salem ordered the muscular gentleman.

"As you wish, milady." Hazel said, departing the room to carry out his assigned task.

"Arthur, I want you to get in touch with your contacts in Atlas and notify them that visits and communications must be limited at all times. Also, have any available agents search for a twilight black sarcophagus engraved with the mark of the widow on its cover and secure it and make sure Tyrian is notified as well." Salem ordered the doctor.

"Yes ma'am." Watts said, departing the room.

Salem was left alone in the room with the seer, in which she recalled the one that was present in the ransacked safe house back home. As it floated away, its departure was watched by another Grimm that was hidden on the rooftop out of the seer's view. This was no ordinary Grimm breed, as it possessed large, bat-like wings and a slender, bird body. The creature's face appeared to be a singular bone plate with six red eyes staring intently at the seer, but the Grimm simply acted out a role similar to the prey it was observing as a much similar Grimm with a more feminine, humanoid body that was covered by slightly-revealing bone plate armor and two large black wings. It appeared to have a round, bone-plated, fleshy head, but it instead retracted as if it were a helmet. The creature's true face was a gorgeous female with snow white hair, amber eyes with an ominous glow to them, jet black veins across her deathly pale skin, and pointed ears.

"So, the false queen has spies for her that operate in these different kingdoms." The Grimm said in a tone that resembled the equivalent of the most talented and experienced seductress.

She looked around the room that she was in, lamenting at how she could not roam the skies anymore since she had been sealed away in her prison, relying on the survivors of her brood to carry out tasks for her since she could not. She let out a sigh when something caught her attention as another member of the brood she had waiting outside her prison alarmed her.

"Hmm? What is it my child?" Ithriel said as she looked through the Grimm's eyes.

What she saw through the eyes of the broodling caused a wide, happy smile to appear across her face...

 **Sorry for the extremely long delay on this chapter, I have been busy trying to deal with business for my school. Furthermore, I may have delays for my chapters since my tablet is not as good as it used to be back then. Anyway, this chapter concludes with the introduction of Ithriel, the fourth and final member of Lilith's four lieutenants. Lilith's four lieutenants are modeled after the four horsemen of the apocalypse, in Tower is War, Laz is Famine, Balthazar is Pestilence, which would make Ithriel death. Salem has become aware of the threat looming on the horizon as her predecessor and the one she usurped the mantle of Queen of the Grimm from has returned. The Vytal Conference has begun to develop the formation of the Strategic Defense Initiative in response to the tragedy of the Moonfall event that has occurred. While, Team JNPR has now become aware of the survival of their friend Ruby. Next time, Lilith releases and reunites with Ithriel, The formation of the SDI is completed and their first goal is set, and the sibling of Lilith is found while Ozpin becomes aware of the threat as well. The pieces take their positions on the grand board that is our story, people, what moves shall be made?**

 **WAIT AND SEE.**


	10. Chapter 10: Lust and Death

**Chapter 10: Sins of Death and Lust**

 **Ancient Ruins**

 **Mistral.**

 **10:30 am**

The bat-like Grimm from the previous chapter sat outside looking at a dark portal, staring out amidst a ruined campsite that belonged to past expeditionary efforts to study or breach the tomb. The dark portal that formed let out Lilith, who looked out upon the ruins with great disdain. This was the last prison that the last and most deadliest of her four lieutenants had resided in since the uprising, and the Dark Grimm Queen would not allow it to kennel her most loyal follower like a zoo animal any longer. She walked calmly to the doors of the ruin, running her fingers across the worn down runes...

"Oh Ithriel, this unruly prison has confined you harshly and unfairly as you long for the freedom of the skies." Lilith commented to herself while the bat Grimm watched.

The Bat-Grimm then flew down and landed next to her, in which Lilith proceeded to gently pat its head as it nestled next to her. After finding the correct rune, Lilith pushed the rune inward as the doors began to shake violently before opening slowly, letting loose dozens of smaller bat Grimm flooded out the opening and started flying in a circle above the ruins. Ithriel flew from across the chamber into Lilith's arms, expressing glee at seeing her master...

"Lady Lilith, oh how long I missed you." Ithriel said, her voice muffled by Lilith's garb.

"I had missed you as well, Ithriel." Lilith said, gently stroking the hair of her underling.

"Oh, the centuries that had passed as I wasted away inside that damp chamber. It is pure euphoria to breathe the fresh air again." Ithriel said after letting go of Lilith and looking to the skies.

"Breathe carefully child, the usurper will most likely sense your release and move her pawns to stop us." Lilith explained to her subordinate, which prompted Ithriel to give a slight growl as a response.

"That insightful cur has plundered your throne and your power for too long. I cannot wait to cleave her wretched head from her shoulders." Ithriel said, clenching her fists tightly.

"In time, my dear, our time will come again once more." Lilith said, sounding patient and calm than Ithriel.

Lilith opened another portal, and gestured her hand for Ithriel to follow her inside. The Grimm obeyed her mistress and ventured inside, disappearing as a second individual similar to the man who observed Balthazar's awakening observed the two's departure and the dark cloud of Grimm bats disperse and fly in different directions. This individual, a woman, stopped a film she had made of Lilith's arrival and departure with the fourth of her lieutenants and pulled out her scroll and contacted a number labeled "Parker"...

"Parker, are you there?" The woman inquired into her scroll.

" _I am here, Athena, have you news to report_?" A man with a gruff voice on the other side inquired.

"Yes, the dark queen has acquired the final lieutenant and has returned to her stronghold." Athena commented.

" _Then it will not be long before Tower acquires the princess. I had received a private communications from Jung that the Minotaur was spotted in Atlas._ " The man responded to Athena.

"The sister to the dark queen is entombed in Atlas?" Athena inquired.

" _Once Jezebel awakens, Lilith will most likely move to seize control of the Grimm again._ " The man said, sounding slightly troubled by this discovery.

"We need to notify Lady Benedict of this." Athena said.

" _No need, Pendragon made her aware when the third had awakened from his tomb. She has already dispatched Poe and Hallenday to Vale to notify the old man about_ _it._ " The man explained to the amazed Athena.

"The old man? You mean? _"_ Athena said with shock.

" _That's right, it's time to let the Beacon Academy headmaster in on this discovery. Salem is his mortal enemy after all._ " The man explained before hanging up.

Athena packed up her gear and then began the long trek back to the main city to reunite with her partner. But as she carried out her task, the Vytal Conference was in its final discussions on the formation of the SDI...

* * *

 **Hall of World Legacy**

 **Island of Vytal, Kingdom of Vale.**

 **11:00 am**

The Vytal Conference was in its final day, and the representatives spent their days discussing the planned layout and structure of the SDI or Strategic Defense Initiative, a joint-kingdom organization that would oversee the research and development of new defenses and any improvements to national defenses should a crisis similar to the moonfall event ever occur. Now, the dignitaries faced the general task of discussing the first course of action that the organization would take...

"I strongly suggest that the first order of business that the SDI addresses after its full assembly is the reactivation of the CCT network." Councilor Hayden argued.

"I agree with Hayden, the CCT is an important resource because the kingdoms need to properly coordinate with each other should they need to." MacArthur said in support of the Vale Councilor.

"True, but the Sandstorm problem should be addressed as well because without the mines and refineries in operation, economic trade and a profitable source of income for both the SDI and the trade network would be ground to a halt." Fairfax commented as Metz raised his hand to silence the crowd, allowing Eins to speak.

"First, the SDI needs its manpower. Upon conclusion of this meeting, recruitment and training for SDI members should be placed at top priority. Next, the CCT and Sandstorm issue should be addressed as a cooperative between both the SDI and environmental agencies should look into options in order to address the problem that the sandstorms pose to the kingdom of Vacuo. " Eins explained.

"The CCT issue can be addressed at the same by establishing a dedicated task force group that is assigned to handle the situation of the ash cloud choking up in the airspace above the city." Metz concluded, following up with the doctor's explanation.

The dignitaries talked among themselves, speaking about the suggested approach that the representatives of the kingdom of Atlas had provided to the group. After a few minutes of deliberation, the dignitaries turned their attention to each other and the dignitaries of Mistral stood up and began to speak...

"We of the Kingdom of Mistral pledge support to the formation of the SDI and the current course of action provided." Councilor Reyes said.

"Vale supports the Atlas-provided plan." Councilor Hayden said.

"Vacuo supports the SDI. This plan of yours better work gentlemen." Kahuna said.

With the official plan assembled, the councilors went out to speak to the press crowd that had assembled outside to reveal the outcome of their plan. As they spoke to the press about the results, Cinder Fall, another one of Salem's agents, observed the broadcast from the safety of a bunker that she took shelter in that was in Vale. The bunker was one of many private safehouses that was controlled and regulated by followers of Salem, but Cinder and her followers were the sole occupants inside as they were the sole few agents in Vale who managed to survive the Moonfall event. Her left arm was bandaged, as was the eye on that side due to injuries that she sustained in the moonfall event and she looked at the monitor playing the broadcast from Vytal with slight disdain...

"Goddamnit." Cinder muttered to herself.

"You're watching it to huh?" A young boy's voice said from behind her.

Cinder turned around to see Mercury, one of her students, standing over in the doorway of the room. His left wrist was in a jet black brace, and he had a pale white bandage sitting on his right cheek because of a minor injury that had occurred during the calamity.

"I'm surprised to see you're already up and about. How's your face doing?" Cinder commented to her student.

"The wound on my cheek is gonna be fine, still stings at a couple of moments though." Mercury explained. "Emerald, however, is an entirely different story." He added, sounding deeply concerned for his partner.

Cinder showed some deep concern for her student, who has been unresponsive since the disaster. Emerald Sustrai, the second of Cinder's students, was heavily injured while in route to the bunker during the chaos as a moon piece's explosive impact had ended up mauling and blinding her severely. She couldn't get the image of seeing the ordeal occur out of her mind, as she was among those carrying her inside the bunker just moments before the large meteor had impacted and the ash cloud had taken shape.

"Did the doctors say anything about what would happen to her?" Cinder inquired from her student as he poured Cinder a cup of coffee.

"They said she would be out cold for at least another day, but her eyes will be challenging to take care of as there is a slight possibility that she may go blind." Mercury explained.

"Well, they better find a way for her to keep her sight. Her semblance needs her eyes to be working properly in order for her to use her semblance." Cinder commented, sounding slightly disturbed.

"So, what's the big headlines?" Mercury commented about the news report on the monitor, shrugging off Cinder's bossy response.

"The kingdoms have banded together to create some organization to help the kingdoms recuperate from this tragedy." Cinder explained to Mercury as he sat down in a chair at the table.

"So, they're working together to clean up each others' mess." Mercury commented sarcastically.

"If the Kingdoms are united together, this will complicate every single one of our plans as this SDI's every operation will be under the heaviest guard. This will choke up every single one of our movements." Cinder explained.

But before Mercury could say anything, A seer entered the room through a special shaft that lead into the room. It stopped in front of Cinder, in which an aspect of Hazel had emerged...

"Hazel, is something the matter?" Cinder inquired.

" _Our safehouses are under attack, as an individual from her ladyship's past has resurfaced._ " Hazel explained.

"Wait, someone has been hitting our safehouses?" Mercury asked.

" _Yes, the individuals appear to be the servant of the one who Salem had acquired control of the Grimm from._ " Hazel said.

"We'll have to be even more careful then, the kingdoms are unifying to address the issues left behind by the Moonfall incident." Cinder explained to her ally.

" _This is not going as her plans have set, we need to fix our timetables and either get Beacon Academy offline permanently or move onto another_ _academy_." Hazel mused.

But before they could even say anything more, a nurse entered the room and whispered something into Cinder's ear that caused her to be filled with Emotion...

"I need to go for a moment, Hazel. Emerald has just awoken." Cinder said.

As Cinder went to go check on her underling, Ozpin was about to be made aware to the ancient power that was on the rise...

* * *

 ** **City of Vale Safe Zone Administration Building.****

 ** **11:50 am****

Since Beacon Academy was closed for repairs, Professor Ozpin spent his time helping out at the Safe Zone and attempting to coordinate the airships that would ferry resources and materials to assist in the repairs for the Beacon CCT tower. Professor Goodwitch organized the teachers and staff from the school to help in the volunteering efforts, biding their time until beacon was ready to be reopened.

"Professor Ozpin, the airships are fueled up and ready to go. Just need clearer skies in order to take off." A radio operator said to the headmaster.

"Understood, let us hope that the SDI is able to neutralize the cloud and clear up the skies." Ozpin commented as an attendant entered the room.

"Headmaster, there's someone here to see you." The attendant explained.

"Alright, send them in." Professor Ozpin explained.

The attendant let a blonde haired woman in a formal suit and tie into the room, in which Ozpin looked up from his desk and recognized her from the start...

"Madison Poe, it has been awhile." Ozpin said.

"Headmaster Ozpin, it's good to see you." Poe explained.

"I'm surprised to see to you so far from Scholar's Island. What brings you here?" Ozpin inquired from the woman.

"Lady Odessa sent me, she requires your presence at her estate on the island." Poe explained.

"Really? Serena and I had falling out and were on "don't even talk to each other" terms." Ozpin commented to the agent.

"Well, recent developments have caused a great change in her plans. Plus, there are certain matters that need to be brought to your attention." Poe said in response.

Ozpin was curious, what could have caused his oldest colleague to seek out his attention? As he pondered a decision, Tower was about to make her move...

* * *

 **Excavation Site**

 **Kingdom of Atlas Northern Ice Fields.**

 **12:01 am**

Though Atlas suffered from the wake of the tsunami, many factions managed to flourish in the crisis. Scientific factions went to work on studying the numerous scattered variations of aquatic choral and flora that had washed up in the wake of the tsunami, increasing their knowledge of the oceans and managed to produce new medicinal formulas to improve the medicines that were being used in the relief efforts. Meanwhile, criminal organizations such as smugglers and traffickers, struggled to search for their goods and products that were lost in the wake of the tsunami. Most of the factions were apprehended, and their products like illegal herbs and confiscated materials were repurposed into the relief effort. In the Northern Ice Fields, researchers studied and examined an ancient sarcophagus that was found within a set of ruins that were exposed after the initial shockwave of the impact that caused the tsunami.

"These markings on this thing are incredible." Dr. Amscray said, excitement booming in his voice.

"Well, the material that made this sarcophagus is made of is what concerns me." Dr. White said, looking at a piece from the sarcophagus.

"What do you mean, White?" Dr. Grey inquired from his colleague.

"It's like the stone is actually solidified Grimm material. It's unnatural to even exist." Dr. White explained to his colleagues.

But before they could voice what their opinions on the material was, the sound of gunfire began to echo from down in the main entry chamber. Silence quickly befell the room, before a bloodied guardsman's corpse flew into the door, knocking it to the ground.

"My god, it's Captain Davernoch." Dr. White said, his voice shaking and trembling.

The sound of heavy hoof falls came clattering towards them, as the shadow of a large horned figure strode over the corpse and into the room...

 **A/N: This concludes chapter 10 of Rising Shadow. The next chapter will pick up with The full introduction of Jezebel, a minor moment of WhiteRose (nothing NFSW), and Ozpin learns the in-depth history of Lilith and her reign over the Grimm...**

 **WAIT AND SEE.**


	11. History of the Dark

**Chapter 11: History of the Dark**

 **Palace of the Shadows.**

 **Hidden Section of the Grimm** **Realm**.

 **12:09 am**.

The Palace of Shadows was once Lilith's seat of power in the world of the Grimm, now reduced to a crumbling ruin since Lilith's fall from power. The Grimm rarely occupied the ruins, making it a perfect place to hide. Tower exited a portal with the sarcophagus from Atlas floating behind her, one of Tower's bone-plated hands pulling it behind and into the main room of the ruins where Lilith and the other three lieutenants awaited her arrival in the main chamber.

"Big Sis Tower, you made it." Laz commented with sarcasm in his voice.

"Silence, Laz, You should show some respect since I had recovered Princess Jezebel." Tower exclaimed with a booming voice.

"That's enough you two, we are in the presence of her grace, you insolent tools." Balthazar rasped as he slammed the end of his long, iron staff onto the ground.

"Yes, this is a joyous occasion after all." Lilith said, rising from her crystalline throne and walking towards the sarcophagus.

The Grimm Queen ran her fingers across the surface of the sarcophagus, looking at the various runes and markings that lined its jet black surface. She had a look of nostalgia on her face; as today would be the first time that she will see her sister in centuries. The Grimm Queen pulled a small bottle of red liquid and poured its contents onto the large rune in the center of the sarcophagus' lid. The rune began to glow brightly, as well as the rest of the runes of the sarcophagus before the lid itself evaporated into a jet black mist that began to rise in the form of a small cyclone. As it rose, a figure took shape in the mist and formed into a buxom woman with pale skin and dark veins and nails, her irises were blood red as she had eyes that were sort of cat-like in their appearance. She wore a slightly revealing garb of a long, slender-trimmed dress with light bone plated boots , and her hair was flowing and silver that was long enough that it stopped at the lower lumbar of her spine. She had black, feather covered wings on her back that were pointed downward.

"My dearest sister, Welcome back to the world of the light." Lilith said.

"Hmmmm...Yes, It has been quite a while, big sister." Jezebel groggily said as she descended to the ground.

"It's going to take time for you to regain your strength, but we have plans that still need to be organized properly so I can help you with that." Lilith said as Jezebel landed in her arms.

The four lieutenants sat there as the sisters enjoyed their reunion together, watching as Lilith gently stroked her sister's silver hair carefully as Jezebel rested in her arms. Though they were Grimm, the relationship between these two sisters was a strong bond that would never break.

"So, what has transpired in the wake of our slumber?" Jezebel sluggishly asked.

"Mankind has progressed well beyond the era that we reigned, they and the Faunus now call divided kingdoms home." Lilith explained to her sister.

"But the Sightless Cur still holds the Grimm in her grasp. She continuously attacks humanity with the intent to acquire the relics of the fathers." Tower exclaimed.

"That bitch still wants the Fathers' relics? She'll drown Remnant in Darkness of she does." Jezebel said with annoyance brimming in her voice.

"Hush, sister. She will face our judgment when the time comes, for now, you must regain your strength and we must solve the exact extent of Salem's secrets." Lilith explained to her weary sibling.

As the Grimm Queen and her allies went to work on studying the extent of Salem's reach, Weiss was about to make a revelation about her true feelings

 **SDC Florence Institute**

 **Examination room 13**

 **12:13 am (thirteen minutes past noon)**

Weiss sat down in a chair with Ruby's coat and shirt folded up on her lap, watching Dr. Sorenson work with the bandaged Ruby on her spinal strength. It has been weeks since the Moonfall, but Ruby's recovery remained a constant struggle for the heiress and her teammate. Yang's arrival in Atlas has bolstered their morale, but Ruby still needed a great deal of medical care before she could even return to Vale. Three numbers had been running through Weiss' mind at the time: 2, 3, and 8, each number standing for something different. 2 represented the number of surgeries that were performed on Ruby after the Moonfall, 3 was the number of medications that Ruby had to take in order to treat the damage that the surgeries couldn't fix, and 8 was the number of weeks that she had to stay in Atlas to undergo physical rehabilitation appointments that occurred every Monday and Thursday of each week. Today's session involved Ruby sitting up straight and carefully twisting side to side, with Sorenson providing commentary along the way.

"How does it feel as you turn, Miss Rose?" Sorenson inquired from the bandaged girl.

"Honestly, it feels very sore when I twist to the right while the left is easier." Ruby explained as she two final twists.

"Hmm, might I take a look?" Sorenson asked the young girl, gesturing her to stop twisting.

Ruby raised her arms up, in which Sorenson carefully pressed his gloved fingers on Ruby's bandaged right side. This man's touch was gentle, which meant that he had experience with physical recovery cases. When Sorenson pressed against an area of Ruby's right side, Ruby would let out small*gasps* of pain which Sorenson had managed to narrow down the source of the problem.

"Miss Rose, when we performed the surgery to rebuild your muscular system, we had to physically reattach or rebuild all major muscles and tendons in your torso" Sorenson explained to the puzzled girl.

"So, that means?" Ruby asked, still trying to understand all the medical words that the doctor had been saying.

"He means that your muscles need to regain their elasticity. Meaning how far your muscles could stretch." Weiss explained, raising her voice in the discussion.

"Spot on, Miss Schnee. It looks like the physical exercises that I have had you doing have improved your elasticity on your left side but not your right. You're healing very well, but you need to focus on making sure that your rebuilt muscles are able to move." Sorenson stated to the young girl from Vale.

"So what do I need to do?" Ruby asked the doctor.

"I advise that you try to concentrate on improving the elasticity of the muscles on your right side for now, do so by doubling the number of times that you perform the muscular exercises for that side." Sorenson advised to Ruby.

"How many times do you suggest?" Weiss inquired from the doctor.

"Two times, once every hour, and then 30 minutes after the first time." Sorenson stated.

"Alright." Weiss said.

"I'll leave you to help her get her shirt back on, I'll see you again next Monday." Sorenson said, departing from the room.

Weiss stood up from the chair she was sitting in, and walked over to Ruby as she started to carefully stand and hold onto the railing of the bed, setting the shirt and coat down on the bed and grabbing the former to put on her teammate. The heiress listened to the pained grunts of the bandaged girl as she carefully put her arms into the sleeves of her shirt. Weiss' heartbeat was steady, paced, feeling relaxed around the little dunce who aspired to be a hero, but something had begun to stir within the Ice Queen's heart. As Ruby faced forward, she felt a gentle sensation on her back as Weiss had carefully leaned to Ruby's back and wrapped her arms around her front.

"Umm...Weiss?" Ruby asked, cut off guard by this sudden act.

"You know, I did everything I could to help you stay alive in Vale, even gave up a decent amount of my aura to try and jumpstart yours." Weiss explained.

"Oh, you did?" Ruby said, feeling relaxed around Weiss.

"It has only been weeks since that day, and I have the worst sense of timing when it comes to realising something." Weiss said, helping Ruby with the buttons.

"You have a minor habit of that." Ruby jokingly said.

"Well, I just realized that I have developed a deep care for you." Weiss bluntly said.

Ruby immediately went silent upon hearing those words, the Ice Queen had warmed up to Ruby and might have even fallen for her. Weiss noticed Ruby's expression, in which she simply pulled Ruby closer and took a deep breath...

"I'm sorry if I surprised you with this, but I just can't shake this feeling that I have when I see you smiling despite the pain you are suffering." Weiss calmly explained before being caught off guard herself.

Ruby had carefully turned around, pulling Weiss close to her in a very gentle hug. This act of comfort was a relief for the both of them, as Ruby's warm body radiated Weiss with both warmth and relaxation from the anxiety that Weiss had felt about opening up to the teammate she had saved about how she had begun to feel towards her. Weiss proceeded to hug Ruby back, cementing how they felt.

"I'm going to be there for you, even when this is all over, like a true partner should." Weiss said.

"I know you will, because you risked your own safety to help me and used your family's resources to put me back together. I will always be grateful to you for that." Ruby explained with a voice that was gentle and kind.

After releasing themselves from the other's grasp, Weiss finished buttoning up Ruby's shirt and put on the coat for her and helped the troublesome girl into her wheelchair. As they exited the room and proceeded down the hall, Weiss let out a slight chuckle that caught Ruby's attention...

"Hmm, what is it Weiss?" Ruby asked her teammate ,who still continued to chuckle.

"Sorry, it's just...you look kind of ridiculous with long hair." Weiss explained to her confused teammate.

Ruby raised an eyebrow at the young heiress about her comment, in which Weiss casually turned Ruby's wheelchair towards a clear, reflective surface. The young girl's base widened at seeing the length of her hair, letting out a large *gasp*.

"Oh my god!" Ruby exclaimed with dramatic shock in her voice.

"Really? Melodramatics?" Weiss said jokingly.

"I don't wanna copy Yang." Ruby responded to her teammate's comment.

"Hehe, I'll make sure that you get a haircut." Weiss said.

Weiss and Ruby proceeded to exit the facility, while Professor Ozpin was about to be the student in the lesson...

 **Odessa Estate**

 **Scholar's Island, Kingdom of Vale coast**

 **12:22 am**

Scholar's Island earned its namesake due to being the home of many libraries and private research centers for many different fields. Many historians called the island home as they studied the various ruins that littered the island, confirming that Scholar's Island was once a center of knowledge and learning in the era of the old kingdom. Ozpin came to this venue for a meeting that would change his view of the continuous struggle that he was cursed to live.

"Headmaster Ozpin, it has been awhile." A voice from the top of the stairs boomed.

"Hector Odessa-Pone, it has been quite some time since we met." Ozpin commented to the tall gentleman at the top of the stairs.

Hector was the husband of Serena Odessa, and one of the most talented archaeologists on the island. A tall, muscular gentleman in his mid-30's, Hector had the longest beard on his face, kept tame through braided sections and some fine trim work. Hector married Serena after the two graduated from Beacon, and they have been part of a secret society dedicated to studying knowledge that they felt should be kept out of the history books.

"What brings you our way?" Hector inquired from the Headmaster.

"Your wife asked to meet with me to discuss what appeared to be a very important matter." Ozpin commented.

"Ah, I have general idea of what you are talking about, but I have to work. Take care and try not to upset her, remember what happened at the Beacon reunion." Hector said as he messed with the Headmaster's hair.

"Yes, I remember." Ozpin commented as he moved the callous marked hand from the top of his head and began to fix his hair.

The headmaster proceeded up the steps of the house while the Archaeologist entered a big truck with mining equipment and other tools in the back and drove off. The house was large and elegant, and there were various artifacts of the time periods on display in large display cases in each corridor. Upon arriving at a set of doors, Ozpin was let out onto a balcony where a woman with porcelain skin, Somber Brown eyes, Ocean blue hair, wearing a red flower dress sat at a Rosewood table enjoying tea with a small stack of envelopes beside her.

"Hello, Professor Ozpin." Serena said.

"Serena, I was surprised to find out that you invited me out here." Ozpin commented.

"Well, some information that came into my possession just so happens to pertain to the "dispute" that you have been deadlocked in for ages." Serena commented, making air quotes when talking about the matter.

"Please don't refer to my personal matters that way." Ozpin said with slight annoyance in his voice.

"Anyway, to the matter at hand, the information that I possess sheds insight into a hidden part of Salem's personal history." Serena explained as she pulled a series of photos from each folder.

She laid out a series of photographs of the Black sarcophagus, and the numerous mural images on its sides. Ozpin picked up one of the photographs and studied it carefully...

"That sarcophagus emerged within one of the ruined cities of Atlas on the Night of Tears. The murals depict a hidden gem of the history of the Grimm; a scene of Rebellion." Serena explained as the Headmaster continued to observe the photos.

"A rebellion? Amongst the Grimm?" Ozpin said, baffled by the thought.

"The Rebellion was against the true ruler of the Grimm...and her name is Lilith." Serena explained.

The Headmaster developed a look of shock and surprise on his face, as he was deadlocked in a century-long conflict with a mere usurper rather than the true ruler of the Grimm. Serena knew that she had managed to hoodwink one of the oldest living individuals on the planet. Ozpin looked at the photos with the murals on them, so the historian awaited for any questions that Ozpin would have...

"So, this Lilith is the true ruler of the Grimm?" Ozpin commented.

"Yes, stories of Lilith suspect her to be one of the oldest and most powerful of the Grimm. Not to mention, they suspect her to be a possible living descendant of the God of the Dark." Serena explained to the baffled headmaster.

"How did those legends ever surface? Grimm reproduction still remains a mystery to this day." Ozpin commented with disbelief in his voice.

"She was the only known Grimm to possess incredibly powerful magics of her time, and she was rumored to possess even the ability to manipulate reality." Serena said in response.

Ozpin did not try to argue with that claim, the ability to manipulate reality to one's own will can be almost considered the equivalent of God-like. A power such as that in the hands of an individual would put entire nations at risk.

"Lilith possessed such sheer power? How would Salem overthrow the likes of her?" Ozpin inquired, questioning the true power of Lilith.

"Salem utilized the Grimm and Humanity against Lilith in her uprising, and Lilith wasn't the only one that Salem overthrew." Serena said.

"Really?" Ozpin inquired.

"Yes, Lilith ruled over the Grimm alongside her own sister and their four lieutenants. After Salem staged a successful rebellion, she imprisoned all of them." Serena described.

"She had family?" Ozpin said.

"Yes, her sister Jezebel and her were both of a unique form of Grimm known as the Desired, a Grimm species that would be compared to the demonic Succubi." Serena explained." Though Lilith was a powerful Sorceress, Jezebel was a powerful illusion caster as Desired possessed the ability later their appearance as a mirror one's personal desires to attract their prey. " She added.

"The Desired were wiped out eons ago by the first huntsmen. I remember that battle well." Ozpin commented, with slight remorse in his voice.

"Anyway, the two gained their authority over the Grimm by demonstrating their superiority in both magic and power. One last thing, on philosophical terms, Lilith is somewhat a friendlier face than Salem." Serena said, sounding slightly amused.

"How is that possible?" Ozpin said, sounding dumbfounded.

"Lilith was a firm believer in the "Balance of Nature's power". She believed in an apparent duty to protect an uphold a delicate balance of light and dark." Serena said.

The headmaster proceeded to listen in, as the young historian explained in vivid detail the philosophical beliefs of the Grimm Queen. The phrase "If it is too bright, you risk going blind, if it is too dark, then there no paths to follow." can basically sum up the beliefs of the Grimm Queen. If the world was in constant peacetime (Too Bright), the kingdoms would become complacent and blind to any rising dangers. If the Grimm were to dominate (Too Dark), then the Grimm would have no purpose to live for as they lose any meaning to be a part of the world. Lilith upheld the balance by controlling which targets that the Grimm could hit, restricting them from attacking things such as larger cities.

"So, Lilith wanted to keep some form of balance between the light and dark." Ozpin commented.

"In her eyes, favoritism towards just one of the two would lead to annihilation. Like I have stated earlier, a constantly peaceful humanity would be easily annihilated by an emergent threat, and the Grimm would starve themselves out because they eradicated humanity, thus eliminating any negative emotions for them to harvest." Serena said with seriousness airing through her voice.

"So, what could have motivated Salem to stage a revolt?" Ozpin inquired, curious to learn more about the foe he has been deadlocked in battle with.

"Salem believed that Chaos would allow the Grimm to extend their superiority over the humans and Faunus." Serena responded to the Headmaster's inquiry.

Though Ozpin was surprised by the ideology of his opponent, something lingered in his mind. Though Lilith, as powerful as Serena described her, how were the four lieutenants part of Lilith's regime? If she had such power, why would she need four lieutenants to work for her when she ruled an entire race?

"What about her four lieutenants? What were their use to someone like Lilith?" Ozpin inquired, curious about the Grimm.

"As you know, someone with great power is both an excellent ruler and the perfect target. Lilith anticipated this variable in her life, so she molded the four lieutenants to be both bodyguards and overseers for the Grimm." The historian explained with logic in her voice.

"All leaders would normally have an entourage of protectors, but these four sound like attack dogs." Ozpin commented.

"Lilith also had a slight attachment to human literature, finding human creativity for weaving legends and tales to be fascinating. One of the old stories from the days of the first Kingdom caught her attention, providing her with inspiration for the creation of her lieutenants." Serena explained.

" Which story could have been a source of inspiration for her?" Ozpin commented, sounding humored by the idea of a Grimm reading a book while taking a sip of tea.

"The story of the Four Horsemen of the apocalypse." Serena explained, triggering a spit-take from the Headmaster.

"How would the tale of the Four Horsemen that are meant to ride across the world when the end comes?" Ozpin said in a baffled tone.

"Each trait of the Four Horsemen peaked Lilith's interest. The first of her lieutenants, Tower, was molded and based from the First Horseman." Serena said to start her description.

"The first horseman was War." Ozpin said.

"Yes, Tower's personality was the embodiment of warrior and a master of war. She was a minotaur, a powerful Grimm breed originally native to the mountainous regions of Mistral and served as the bodyguard to Lilith and her most trusted General." Serena explained.

"Sounds like an opponent that you wouldn't want to have on your bad side." Ozpin commented, slightly disturbed by the details.

"The second lieutenant was Laz, and he was based from the second horseman of Plague." Serena started. " Lilith created Laz from William Lazarus, a notorious pirate from Vale that terrorized Mistral seas. Lilith converted the pirate and his crew into Humanoid Geist, and he wields a set of dual cutlass blades that are poisonous and lethal to humans and Faunus." She said.

"She managed to convert a human being into a Grimm? Salem has never been able to accomplish that." Ozpin commented, sounding shell shocked by the information.

"The third lieutenant was Balthazar, which was based from the third horseman, Pestilence. He was very unusual for a type of Grimm since he was the first Grimm to have some connection to dust." Serena said.

"How on earth can a Grimm have a connection to dust?" Ozpin exclaimed.

" His breed were known as Dustlings, Grimm that were known for a genetic disorder which caused Dust to physically manifest inside their bodies. This caused them to suffer from shortened life spans, making them least likely to attack settlements. Balthazar was spared from the fate of most of his birth brood, as Lilith took him in and augmented his physiology to prevent his death." Serena said.

"This is surprising. A Grimm breed of dust-harboring creatures, I should check some of the old historical information about the Grimm." Ozpin commented to himself.

"Anyway, the final of the Four lieutenants was modeled after the Final Horseman, Death. Her name...is Ithriel." Serena explained.

Ozpin's jaw had dropped a good few feet away from his face upon hearing that single name. In that moment, a single memory flashed in his mind, the memory of a woman with bat-like qualities staring at him with a malicious smile. Sweat began to appear on his forehead, which the young historian immediately caught on to the man's facial expressions...

"I'm guessing you are familiar with her." Serena said as the Headmaster regained his composure.

"Once...in a previous life. I'm familiar with her work and her abilities." Ozpin commented.

"Anyway, Ithriel was part of the Shadowed Wings, a breed of Bat-like Grimm known to be the equivalent of the perfect spies. Lilith used her as both her assassin and spy master for her operations." Serena explained casually.

"Alright, how could they be relevant in this current situation?" The headmaster inquired.

"During the SDC survey of the devastation , two Stuttgart museum employees were found dead with that black sarcophagus as its contents were gone." Serena explained as she tapped the photos of the Sarcophagus.

"You're saying that the occupant escaped?" Ozpin inquired.

"Correct. One of the staff members had been reduced to a blackened skeleton while the other was dead from neurological overload. " Serena explained.

Ozpin was completely shellshocked by the descriptive details. He sipped his tea with extreme force in order to try and get the grisly image out of his mind.

"You think this Lilith was in the Sarcophagus?" The Headmaster inquired.

"I already know. Lilith wasn't the only one to be released from that sarcophagus." Serena commented, catching the headmaster's attention.

"There was another individual in the sarcophagus?" Ozpin exclaimed in disbelief.

" Not physically. A few hours later, The Atlas Chapter of the White Fang splinter cell that was under the command of Adam Taurus had been butchered. The assailant was discovered to have been a Grimm of unnatural size." Serena described.

"Then that must mean..." Ozpin figured.

"Tower had awakened first." Serena commented.

The headmaster expressed a look of concern, two ancient Grimm have awakened from their slumber. He began to try and consider possible measures like any normal huntsman would do, in the case that Lilith would be an actual threat to the people of Remnant.

"She's been busy as the Kingdoms have been dedicated to recovering from having pieces of the moon rain down on them. Lilith has rallied the other lieutenants and Tower had found the Sarcophagus of Jezebel." Serena explained to the planning headmaster.

"Then there's no telling when she might strike." Ozpin commented.

"Her first priority is most likely recuperating her strength and power, then assessing the current strength of Salem and status of her plans." Serena said.

"Why would you want to tell me this?" Ozpin said.

"Because, it would be interesting to see the reaction that the cursed wizard who has been dead-locked in a battle with the usurper instead of the true ruler of the Grimm." Serena commented.

Ozpin thought to himself, the battle that he was cursed to carry on for millennia until Salem had died was now changed since Lilith was the true ruler of the Grimm. As they polished off their tea, Ozpin prepared to take his leave when the air of the room suddenly shifted. Serena caught on and sprang to her feet while the headmaster readied his cane in one swift motion. A shadow began to creep into the room through the balcony window, as it began to bubble and rise up in the form of what appeared to be three bodies fused together.

"WE CARRY A DECREE FROM THE DARK EMPRESS, HER GLORIOUS LADYSHIP WISHES TO SPEAK WITH YOU, CURSED WIZARD, YOU SHALL STEP FORWARD AND HER SUMMONS IN 1 WEEKS TIME OR THE CONSEQUENCES WILL MEAN YOUR DOOM." The shadow proclaimed before dissolving like a Grimm upon death, leaving the headmaster and scholar speechless.

 **This is the end of the chapter. The next chapter shall pick up with Ozpin meeting Lilith in an unexpected place, The Fight for Menagerie commences, while Team JNPR encounter trouble that changes their schedule...**

 **WAIT AND SEE.**


	12. Chapter 12: Meeting of the Powers

**Chapter 12: A Meeting of the Powers.**

 **Beacon Academy Recovery Center**

 **Kingdom of Vale**

 **9:30 am.**

 **1 week later.**

The Recovery Center was a series of connected trailers established on the outskirts of Beacon, where the construction efforts to repair the damaged CCT System and bring Cross Kingdom communications back online. However, resources to actually complete the task are scarce and limited due to the ash cloud. Sitting in the command center, Beacon Headmaster Ozpin looked over progress reports and damage assessments for the School. As he sat there, his scroll vibrated with enough force that the muscles in his legs began to shake, and it rang with tremendous volume. Pulling it out, it read an alarm of a breach in "Sub-Level 1" which Ozpin knew what that meant.

" _How could there be someone in the Vault? That's supposed to be secure._ " Ozpin thought to himself.

He hurried into the tower and activated an Elevator that was operating on an independent power source. Taking it down to the vault, he was greeted by a shadowy mist that blocked his view of the Vault's priority asset: The Fall Maiden. On responsive instinct, the Headmaster delivered a swift motion of his cane, cleaving through the mist. The air began to clear, in which he came face to face with Lilith as she tapped her finger on the glass of Amber's capsule.

"So, When I heard that the usurper of my throne has been deadlocked in a seemingly endless conflict with one of the Firstborn of Light, I didn't expect him to wield such a...less-intimidating weapon." Lilith commented.

"Judging by the sense of Pride and Malice, with a hint of seduction, you must be the Dark Queen Lilith." Ozpin figured.

"The Air of Wisdom and Foolishness, blended with Magic unending, means that you are the Lifebound Wizard , Ozpin. " Lilith commented.

This was a moment that invoked an air of unease. The man Forbidden from Death, and the Queen whose throne was stolen, were deadlocked in a situation. Any common historian would be sitting on the edge of their seats as they awaited for either power to make their move.

"So, you gave this child her power. A foolish move, I say." Lilith commented.

"Oh?" The Headmaster said with intrigue.

"To trust humans with such power, you rely upon them too much. You placed a bullseye on their backs and those who would inherit the mantle. " Lilith coldly commented.

"I entrusted the power to Four who proved themselves worthy of it. I can't control the route it takes from there." Ozpin defended.

"But your generosity is your weakness. To leave such power in the hands of others, you deprive yourself crucial energy to even challenge Salem in a fight. You possessed such power, and you waste it." Lilith remarked.

"I wanted those four to use their power to be light in the darkness of man's days. Even though there have been occasional bad fruits among the selected, there have been those who lived up to the responsibility given to them. " Ozpin commented.

"( _Scoff_ ) That naive sense is exactly why you have not been able to break the loop that you're trapped in." Lilith remarked at the headmaster.

"While I admit that you not wrong in that sense, it is Humanity that decides the course of action once the power is received." Ozpin said in his defense.

In that moment, there was only the cold silence of the vault as neither Ozpin or Lilith dare spoke a word on that comment that the headmaster had received. The silence eventually broke when Lilith let out a slight snicker at what he had just said with a hint of pride lingering within his voice.

"Is something funny?" Ozpin inquired.

"Yes, you just reminded me of myself from the days of youth and the brutal training I underwent to master my own power." Lilith commented.

"So you had to undergo training to master your own abilities. Much like myself a long time ago in a different era." Ozpin said.

"Yes. I was trained by an avatar of the dark lord himself, so my responsibilities as Queen of the Grimm can be considered easy." The dark queen started. " My initial rise to the position of the Queen brought about some fierce ire and resentment from my common opponents. They doubted my ideals and saw me as our kinds' own destruction, so I had to bloody my hands in order to thwart their advance against me and my subordinates and sister. During my time as ruler of the Grimm, those who opposed me had embraced me on bent knee as both my power and belief had grown to a miraculous extent as the Grimm didn't resist either. Stability and order had come to the darkness, garnering an age where Nature was in perfect balance." She concluded.

"But what could have brought Salem to rise against you? I can't clearly see what her motivations were." Ozpin inquired.

"Salem was always envious of my position and power, she wished to create a world where man was subjugated to her and controlled through the items that the brothers had left behind." Lilith commented, alarming Ozpin. Lilith easily caught onto his reaction and decided to roll with it, calmly saying "I am aware of the four treasures, Wizard, but I do not seek them as I can tell that you conceal their existence from the eyes of the people of your city."

"So you acknowledge the existence of the relics, but refuse to pursue them? I find that difficult to believe." Ozpin said as he adjusted his glasses.

"You lack trust in my words, Wizard. I can understand since we have only just met for the first time." Lilith remarked.

Lilith opened a portal, in which she stood up to leave before turning around to say something to the experienced wizard...

"You know, your experience with Grimm showed itself throughout our conversation as most normal humans would perspire like it was a torrential rainfall coming down their faces. Your breathing was relaxed, and there was not even the slightest perspiration on your brow. Wizard, you would make a fascinating opponent should we ever have to meet each other on the battlefield." Lilith remarked before departing.

But as the portal closed, Ozpin, whose calm exterior had always been known to those around him, began to become soaked with sweat as beads of liquid began to form around his face in a sense of surprise. His hand holding onto his cane began to slightly shake, which a singular thought began to flow in his mind.

" _Just how powerful is Lilith? the immense power that she radiated was enough to shake me to my core. We have to be careful around her, because if mankind were to ever wage war with her, it would be a definite loss."_ Ozpin thought before evaluating Amber's state.

While the headmaster evaluated the condition of his ward, Team JNPR was about to face some difficulty in their trip...

 **Atlas Relief Center, City of Strasburg**

 **Kingdom of Atlas.**

 **10:00 am**

The Relief center was bustling as the workers and security detail worked around the clock to distribute supplies to the beleaguered refugees and civilians, keeping order among the population. Pyrrha looked up to see Faunus individuals walking around with armbands that had the White Fang symbol adorned on them, but it was different from the normal symbol. As the aspiring huntress walked along, Sonny came running up to her, catching her attention by shouting "Hey, Pyrrha!"

"Oh, Sonny, I didn't see you there." Pyrrha responded.

"Yeah, you were looking at them on patrol." Sonny pointed out.

Pyrrha was surprised by the fact that Sonny was well aware of the presence of White Fang amidst the hundreds that participated in the relief effort. Sonny immediately suspected that she was pondering why the White Fang is getting involved, so cleared his throat and spoke...

"Judging from the curiosity in your eyes, Pyrrha, you want to know why there are White Fang members getting involved." Sonny slyly said.

"Is it that obvious?" Pyrrha commented with a chuckle.

"Well, you don't have to worry, the White Fang members you see among the population are actually really good people." Sonny explained. "These are actually the good guys that are nothing like the violent ones that operated in Vale." He added to his last statement.

"Oh?" Pyrrha said as her teammates joined her.

"Not all Faunus are unified in thought on how to get equal rights for the people. In the Fang's case, there are two factions that practically compete against one another as each values different morals and methods to achieving their own goals. There's the primary faction that currently hold the central chair on the leadership of the White Fang, lead by High Leader Sienna Khan, and they do support violence, but nothing too serious that can have damaging consequences for the kingdoms." The representative explained.

"I see, that's why all they do is vandalism and attacks, simple petty crimes." Ren pointed out.

"What about the other Faction? What do they support?" Jaune asked.

"The other faction is technically a splinter cell that actually supports things such as terrorism and mass attacks like the operation that happened in Vale awhile back." Sonny said, sounding very dark.

"You mean...the attack on the docks so the Fang could acquire the dust shipments that had come in." Ren explained.

"Yeah, their leader is a Faunus supremacist named Adam Taurus. He doesn't want the equal rights that Sienna and her faction have been fighting for, He wants humanity to fall into total despair as everything they created falls under the marching boots of his revolutionary soldiers." The representative said, sounding similar to a Grim storyteller.

"His hatred for humanity must run deeper than most faunus." Jaune said with concern.

"Though he's got a lot of followers, not all Faunus agree to his methods for the future. I personally think that his approach will only make things worse for the Faunus in the long run, because if society is solely dominated by the Faunus, how long will be before the human-equivalent to Taurus himself emerges from amongst the human race and leads a new revolution against the Faunus and resets everything? Only that time, discrimination against the Faunus will be worse than ever." Sonny explained, sounding extreme in his voice.

But before any of the members of Team JNPR could speak their piece on the matter, Sonny's scroll began to vibrate and blare the loud, over-the-top jingle to Pumpkin Pete's cereal in which the representative of said company looked slightly embarrassed for having it. He quickly pulled out his scroll and answered the call, while Team JNPR decided to talk amongst themselves...

"So, do you think we'll have enough time to go visit Ruby today?" Nora inquired.

"Nora, we're supposed to be leaving some time this evening." Ren commented with annoyance in his voice.

"Well, we haven't seen her since last night, and she disappeared off the face of Vale since the Night of Tears." Nora said, with emotion resonating in her voice.

"It's alright, Nora, We can speak to Sonny about making some time to visit her and Weiss." Pyrrha said.

"Yeah, he might understand since she's our friend and we're concerned for her." Jaune said.

"GODDAMN IT!" Sonny shouted at the top of his lungs, alarming both workers and Team JNPR alike.

The team looked to see Sonny fuming mad as his face was red as a cherry, in which Pyrrha carefully stepped towards him to see what was wrong while Jaune, Ren, and Nora reassured workers that they were looking into what caused his reaction.

"Sonny, is something the matter?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yeah, we're going to have a bit of an extended stay here." Sonny growled.

"Why do you sound infuriated by it?" Pyrrha carefully inquired.

"Because, Pyrrha, our pilot was arrested by Atlas police and security for drunk and disorderly conduct when he showed up at the airport today to make sure our airship is all fueled up." Sonny groaned.

"What?!Why?" Pyrrha asked.

"Apparently he and a couple of old friends from the Flight Academy pulled a "Night and Day" as a sort of memorial tribute to a couple of friends who died on the Night of Tears." Sonny explained.

"What's a Night and Day?" Pyrrha inquired, sounding baffled by the concept.

"It's an old pilot's tradition, they celebrate the lives of fallen fellow pilots. It involves them drinking a lot one evening, then they drink a special type of alcohol the next morning." Sonny described.

"What kind of drink keeps him in his drunken state that he gets arrested for?" Pyrrha exasperated.

"An "Atlas Sparrow", it's basically a blend of some very strong alcohol types with a stick of celery inside. Our guy decided to drink one, and he's apparently going to be detained by the police for his base charges and until the massive hangover wears off for our sake." Sonny said.

Pyrrha let out a loud groan of annoyance and filled her teammates in on the matters at hand, in which Nora expressed glee as she had hoped to spend time with Ruby and Yang. Sonny pulled out his scroll to contact the company about trying to get their pilot released either as soon as possible, or trying to find a new pilot for them so they can continue their trip. But as they enjoyed an extended stay in Atlas, Ghira Belladonna had an important task at hand as sinister forces had begun to creep towards Menagerie...

 **Kuo Kuana**

 **Belladonna Household.**

 **Menagerie.**

 **10:34 am**

In the private study of Ghira, the chieftain leader of Menagerie on the couch in his room while Goh Jira sat beside him with Culpeo taking up the love seat. The coffee table was littered with photos of a ship, Masked White Fang members arming themselves, and Corsac and Fennec giving orders to specified targets on a map of Menagerie. Since he was not wearing his normal uniform, a unique scale pattern was slightly visible going down the back of Goh. Ghira poured over the photos, looking carefully at the photos of Corsac and Fennec before setting them down...

"Are you sure that the information is good?" The Chieftain inquired from the White Fang members.

"It is, the individual who brought it to us is a confirmed deserter from the Vacuo splinter cell chapter. Baku put a bounty out on her for abandoning their side." Culpeo explained.

"As it stands, Corsac and Fennec intend to knock out the White Fang headquarters here first, then neutralize the local police before targeting the house." Goh said in thorough detail.

"They aim to cut off assistance to us before they attack, wanting to wipe out my family in order to cement their authority over the island." Ghira commented.

"If Baku succeeds to take Menagerie, He will legitimize his position as the successor to Adam and the cell will reunite under his banner." Culpeo commented.

"But, Baku doesn't know that the duo are planning to double cross him as soon as you, Kali, and Blake have all been killed." Goh explained.

Ghira looked to the reptilian Faunus beside him with surprise, the Albain brothers are planning to double cross the very man who had taken them in after Adam's disappearance on the Night of Tears. This made the chieftain question the goals of the two, as what would they gain out of taking command of the island? To find out, he would need to do more than just look surprised by the fact that the two were planning a double cross...

"Why would the brothers double cross Baku after he allowed them and the Cell members here to join him?" Ghira inquired.

"Apparently, the brothers had claimed that they were taking orders from Adam himself." Goh said.

"Which I say is insane, not a single leader of any of the branches have been able contact him since he had vanished off the face of Remnant, it's clearly a bluff that the two are doing to throw Baku and the other cell leaders off." Culpeo pointed out.

"True, but not all of the cell members here joined Baku, a few went to the Atlas Chapter before they shut their doors to clean up after the Tsunami they had, but look how that turned out." Goh explained.

"What happened in Atlas?" Ghira said, sounding intrigued by the information that Goh brought up.

" _(Sigh)_ The Splinter Cell chapter that was located in Atlas was wiped out. Reports have been saying that no one had survived." Goh said.

Ghira's expression of curiosity quickly melted into shock as Goh and Culpeo looked at him with looks of concern. An entire cell of Faunus, even if they were members of the Splinter Cell that Adam had made, was wiped out with not even any sign of survivors. "Was it the Atlas authorities?" was the first question that came out of his mouth, in which he got a head shake of "No" from Goh...

"Apparently, it was a Grimm of unknown origin that did the deed. A big one." Goh explained.

"According to one of the police reports of the massacre that they encountered and the security footage they analyzed, one of the soldiers that was a member of the cell displayed erratic behavior before suddenly collapsing." Culpeo started.

"That same soldier suddenly had shadowy appendages emerge from their body and snatch several other members before falling onto the train track since their base was an abandoned metro line. It consumed the energy of the line and transformed the soldiers into some kind of material that was the equivalent of an incubation chamber of an egg. It emerged from the egg and then proceeded to do something to the other members." Goh explained.

" This creature sounds like some kind of parasite." Ghira theorized.

"Well, the two of us suspect otherwise." Goh commented.

"The Grimm that the Atlas Authorities saw in the security footage matched a Grimm that was identified in a historical translation that was being kept at the museum of the very same city. A Minotaur." Culpeo said.

"We can talk strange Grimm later, right now, we have a serious matter to discuss of how to prevent the Albains from seizing our island." Ghira said.

"Agreed. The ship they're taking to get here with their task force is set to depart in a few hours, which sets them on a course for Menagerie that will bring them here around nighttime." Goh explained.

"How many members are they bringing?" Ghira asked.

"Roughly around 90 men, enough to pull of their assignment if they succeed in launching a tactical and precise strike against us." Culpeo explained.

"Most likely the ship is set to be a decoy, then they'll try to approach by going under the water so we would be caught off guard." Goh said.

"Summon the chief of the police force, we're going to hold a strategy meeting here at the house in one hour, prepare your fighters until then." Ghira ordered the two.

They acknowledged him with a *Yes sir* before proceeding to exit the study in which Kali entered the room carrying a tea set in her hands and setting it down on the table. She looked to her husband as she made him a cup, seeing that he was exhausted from his work...

"Rough meeting?" Kali calmly asked the weary chieftain.

"Yes, first I had to deal with reports about how the reconstruction process has been proceeding since the Moonfall, now I have to make sure our island doesn't fall into the hands of a violent splinter cell." Ghira explained.

"So that's why you were trying not to shout into your scroll about a few nights ago." Kali jested as she handed her husband a cup of tea.

"Baku is choosing to violate the agreement that all cell leaders made before beginning this pointless infighting now of all times, when the world is still healing from this tragedy." Ghira lamented as he sipped his tea."How is Blake doing?" He added to his previous statement.

"Ilia and that Wukong boy have both been helping her with her rehabilitation exercises, but the challenge is difficult as she is still very sore." Kali explained.

"I was hoping that she would have both a peaceful recovery at home and a happy reunion with us, but the threat of the Albains attacking puts that plan into a meat grinder." Ghira commented.

"There are just somethings that we have no control over sweetie, all we can do is adapt, and make sure that nothing bad happens to Blake while she's here with us." Kali said as she stroked her husband's head.

"Has she said what she's gonna do after her recovery is done?" Ghira inquired.

"Apparently, finish her education at Beacon Academy with her friends on the team she was a part of." Kali said in response to her husband's question.

"Really?" Ghira said in a humored tone.

"Yep, she and a couple of girls are called Team RWBY. They've apparently done some amazing things during their time at Beacon." Kali said.

"Well, I will have to talk to Blake about it some time." Ghira said.

"That boy, Sun, told me some interesting things about what they did during their time at Beacon." Kali explained.

"Well, I have time before I have to prepare for that strategy meeting to counter the Albains." Ghira said.

As the mighty chieftain listened into the stories of the exploits of his daughter told him by his loving wife, Lilith and her subordinates began to consider their next moves...

 **The Palace of Shadows**

 **Darkened Realm of the Grimm.**

 **11:00 am.**

Lilith and her inner circle sat around the large table in the center of the room as an unnatural form of Grimm walked around, resembling small, slender humanoids that look like Geist, and repaired the damaged structure of the Palace. The eyes of the Six were locked onto two figures that kneeled before them, each dressed in their own attire and style. The tall figure looked like a formal gentleman in a tuxedo and top hat, while the other resembled a young boy with blonde hair and pale skin wearing what appeared to be a military-style attire.

"Demetrius, Tubal Cain, you are my most prized creations and the only ones capable of performing the task that I have for you." Lilith explained to her subordinates. "You are to eliminate the key agents who are loyal to the cur who stole my throne from me." She said.

"You will not be just targeting mere underlings, these are her key subordinates, crucial elements to her plans and organizational structure of her power." Jezebel said.

"Demetrius, you will journey to the Kingdom of Vale and eliminate the agent Cinder Fall and her subordinates, then you will hunt the agent known as Dr. Arthur Watts." Ithriel explained.

"Understood, milady." The boy responded in an enthusiastic tone, as if he was itching to carry out his hunt.

"Tubal Cain, you will journey to the kingdom of Mistral and assassinate Hazel Rainart, Salem's strongest and experienced fighter, and her mad attack dog Tyrian Callows." Tower explained.

"Understood." The formal figure said.

"Raise your heads and stand proud, my servants, your mission is crucial for our Dies Irae, the day where we take back what is ours and cast that coward down." Lilith said.

The two stood up, revealing the features that tied their very existence to the six in charge. The boy's left eye was concealed by his hair as he looked the most human, but a red, eerie glow radiated from underneath, while the formal figure was revealed to be a towering being whose face was replaced with a form of Grimm mask that resembled a hybridized combination of a Beowulf and Grimm mask. Lilith smiled as she snapped her fingers and two weapons arose from a pair of shadows that manifested at the edge of the table. A set of crescent shaped bone blades manifested in front of the boy, while a set of bone covered gloves manifested in front of the tall being.

"As of this moment, you two are the hands that bludgeon our enemies, the fangs that bleed our enemies dry as they experience their final moments. Go fourth, and render their flesh and watch as they fall into despair." Tower proclaimed as the two took their provided weapons.

While the Six watched the two prepare, with the boy shooting them a smile of a bloodthirsty killer before teleporting away alongside the tall figure...

 **Author's note: I shall be moving to another location sometime in the future and shall be resuming college in a couple of weeks, so expect delays on any other future chapters and projects of mine. The Next chapter shall pick up with Ruby hitting a snag in her recovery process, Demetrius launches a surprise attack on Cinder's hideout, while Ghira prepares to defend Menagerie from hostile invasion by the Splinter cell task force...**

 **WAIT AND SEE.**


	13. Chapter 13: Combative Setbacks

**Chapter 13: Combative Setbacks**

 **Cloud Banner Estate**

 **Grant Mountains, Strasburg, Atlas.**

 **11:30 am.**

Ruby sat on her bed, going over her normal therapy exercises with the assistance of her protective sister, Yang. It was weeks since the events of the "Night of Tears" and her stay in Atlas while she healed from her injuries that she received from protecting Weiss from an exploding dust store. She thought constantly what Weiss said to her in that private moment, but kept her central focus on trying to get physically better, as she still held onto the childish dream of becoming a huntress. As she continued to twist side to side per the instructions given to her by her doctor, a sudden sharp pain erupted in her side that she was working on to test elasticity and caused her to lunge forward with a loud "OWWW!"

"Ruby?! What's wrong?!" Yang panicked as Qrow barged into the room with speed, accompanied by a concerned Weiss and Klein.

"What happened?" Qrow asked as he kneeled beside his niece.

"I don't know, she just lunged forward in pain without warning." Yang explained to the huntsman as he rested his hand gently on her side, trying not to amplify the pain.

"Her side is seriously warm, like really warm." Qrow explained in a concerned tone to Weiss as Willow entered the room, followed by Hiyori.

"What in the name of Oum is going on?" Willow exclaimed as Weiss walked over to Hiyori, who was standing behind Willow.

"Hiyori, tell Nadia to get the car ready and out front in 3 minutes, now." Weiss ordered.

"Yes, ma'am." Hiyori responded, leaving the room in speed.

"Weiss, do you have a grasp of the situation?" Willow bewilderingly asked her daughter.

"Yes, we need to get Ruby to Florence now, something may have reopened inside." Weiss said in a serious tone, alarming both Willow and Ruby's family members as Yang let out a *gasp*.

"Alright, I'll contact Sorenson to let him know that you're coming." Willow said as Weiss turned to the trio behind her.

"Klein, help Yang and Qrow get Ruby into her chair and get her down to the Lobby, I'll be on standby at the doors." Weiss said before quickly exiting the room.

The butler of the Schnee family looked surprised by Weiss' quick response to the situation and how she handled it, musing to himself about how far she has changed since the events of the Moon Fall as he grabbed Ruby's wheelchair and whisked it over to the two as they prepared to move Ruby to it. They hurried her down to the lobby of the house, where Weiss helped them with the door and got her to the car and took her to the Florence Institute...

 ** _10 minutes Later_**

 **Florence Institute, Grant Mountains**

 **11:40 am**

The group sat outside the operating theater as Ruby had been rushed back into surgery at the doctor's urging. Qrow paced back and fourth, while Weiss sat beside Yang on a bench, with the latter having buried her face within her hands out of concern for her sister. Klein stood patiently in the corner, noticing how Weiss was comforting her teammate and colleague from Beacon as her sister was being examined and treated. Yang broke the silence by saying "They've been in there a long time."

"It's only been 10 minutes, firecracker." Qrow responded to his niece.

"Her belief is understandable, Mr. Branwen. She hasn't seen her sister in several weeks and now this problem is warranted as a decent alarm." Klein responded to the Huntsman's impatient response.

"Sorry, I'm just a little rattled that's all." Qrow said.

"Dr. Sorenson is one of Atlas' top surgeons, if anyone knows what could have caused Ruby's pain, he can." Weiss said as Sorenson exited from the surgical theater.

The drunken huntsman pivoted on heels and walked towards the doctor as he pulled his mask down, moving like he was on a mission. Weiss also moved to the doctor as the huntsman asked the doctor "How is she Doc?" just as Weiss inquired herself by saying "Pardon Mr. Branwen's directness, you can understand his concern since he is her uncle."

"Miss Rose is resting now, the reason for her sudden pain was caused by something that seemingly had gone unnoticed." Sorenson explained, raising alarm in both the experienced huntsman standing in front of him as well as Weiss herself.

"What do you mean? Every examination that we undertook here was thorough and you made sure to examine every detail." Weiss explained in total disbelief at the fact that this had happened.

"The injury had occurred because she most likely tried to push her muscles past the current limit. Her aura may have healed her body and reduced the shock from her injuries, but she couldn't handle too much exertion pressure like what she was trying to reach." Sorenson explained.

"In English, Doc." Qrow responded.

"A muscle on her left side had partially ruptured, probably during one of her rehabilitation exercises. It had just fully snapped during her exercise with Miss Xiao Long, and a few other muscles suffered damage and bleeding had occurred. " Sorenson said.

"This is going to set her physical recovery back, isn't it?" Klein asked.

"I'm afraid so, until the damaged muscles can heal, she is to stay in bed and her movement is to be limited to simply raising her up so she can eat and drink." Sorenson instructed.

As Qrow talked with Sorenson about the details with the doctor, Weiss noticed that Yang was still in a state of shock over the details that had been revealed to them. Ruby's pain had emerged during an exercise under her watch, which is something that she wasn't ready for. The heiress walked over to the young girl and clasped the girl's hands as they trembled in shock...

"You have nothing to beat yourself up over, Yang." Weiss said to her teammate.

"Were you listening to him, Weiss? This happened on my watch. I'm supposed to be her older sister, and I couldn't see this coming." Yang shakily said as tears started to form around her eyes.

In that moment, Weiss immediately pulled the shaking, golden haired girl close to her and held her tightly. The sudden injury and disappearance of her sister on the Night of Tears and the situation presently, has diminished Yang's confidence in her role as the older sister to Ruby. Weiss acted because she had a responsibility of her own, as a teammate and friend to the two, and as she gently stroked the golden hair of Yang, she spoke up by saying to Yang "Listen, Yang Xiao Long, you still have a job to do."

"What?" Yang said in utter confusion.

"You may have not been able to help her once, don't let one setback drag you down. You are her sister, Yang, she'll need your support through this arduous process of getting her strength back, so toughen up, girl, she's got a long way to go before she's ready and able to continue her dream." Weiss said, sounding like a motivational speaker.

Yang looked at her friend with emotion still staining her face, but she quickly dried her tears and looked to her friend with reaffirmed confidence. Yang knew Weiss was right, she can't become depressed when her little sister needs her at her best during this dark period. After concluding his conversation with Sorenson, Qrow immediately walked over to the two and cleared his throat before saying " Doc says that she'll need to get some rest here for an Hour before we can take her back to the estate. He's also prescribing a muscular med to help the healing process for the damaged muscles."

"Alright. I'll get in touch with my mom to let her know the situation." Weiss said, turning away to pull out her scroll.

As the group wondered what to do in the future with Ruby's condition, Demetrius was about to launch his attack on Cinder and her subordinates at their hideout...

 **Hidden Bunker Infirmary**

 **Kingdom of Vale.**

 **12:40 pm.**

To keep themselves hidden and to provide a place for them to rest and organize a proper plan, the agents of Salem had established safe houses for each of them to use as staging bases for any operations that they had. Among those safe house networks, there was a hidden bunker that would be used as a form of rally point in case of dire emergencies in the kingdoms. These bunkers were prepared for any situations, it was capable of withstanding any hostile attacks from the outside, it had modified shock absorbers that would allow it to withstand earthquakes, and it is shielded from fire by thick layers of concrete and reinforced steel. Each bunker was equipped with a strong stockpile of rations, a full-stocked infirmary that possessed high-yield technology for treatments, and advanced security to ward off any hostile intruders. Inside the infirmary, Cinder conversed with Emerald and Mercury, with the former receiving treatment for her injuries that she had sustained during the chaos of the Moon Fall. She inquired first about Emerald's left eye, which had a bandage covering it, by saying in a calm tone "How is your eye doing Emerald?"

"It's doing great, it doesn't sting so much anymore and the Doctor said that I'll have sight back in it in a few weeks." Emerald explained to her mentor.

"That's good. I need you at your best if we are to proceed with any altered plans." Cinder said.

"Well, we're going to be in this bunker for awhile until the situation on the surface calms down." Mercury said as he tuned his legs.

"So, do you think that SDI group might be able to solve the Ash cloud problem?" Emerald inquired.

In response to her student's question, Cinder let out a casual *scoff* at the idea of the group solving the problems. In truth however, Cinder actually wanted the SDI to fail in one thing; Defense, because if the SDI managed to improve the Kingdoms' defenses against the Grimm, then everything that Salem had been working towards would be too challenging to contend with the new creations. She knew that her plans will take much longer if the SDI is able to improve defenses, making the task of allowing the Grimm to take the city to fail or be held back. Before she could speak, a small radio that she carried beeped...

"Hello, this is Cinder." She said into it.

" _Hey, Cindy, it's Roman. I could use your help with something._ " Roman said on the other end of the radio.

"And, what is that, Roman?" Cinder inquired.

" _It's over in Security. Something is causing the sensors to start tripping up."_ Roman explained.

Before she could even speak, a loud boom had occurred and alarms around the bunker began to blare loudly. A group of the bunker's private security ran to the main doors, with Cinder following behind alongside Mercury.

"What the hell is going on?" Mercury asked as Roman came up to talk to them.

"I can tell you. Someone found the main door." Roman explained as he readied his _Melodic Cudgel_.

" What? It was hidden well enough that no one could find it." Cinder said.

"Well, somebody did, they somehow cleaved through the doors hiding it with little effort." Roman said.

In that moment, the trio heard the loud sound of something carving through steel. It was a loud shrieking sound, piercing the ears of all within hearing range of it and deafening to those who were too close to the origin. Mercury ran over to the group of guards, in which they saw the ends of large blades carving through the massive circular door like it was tissue paper. The blade ends retreated, in which the door was violently kicked down as Demetrius entered the bunker with his blades in hand and a sadistic smile across his face...

"Now *licks his lips* which one of weaklings is Cinder Fall?" Demetrius barked as the soldiers kept their guns trained on him. Demetrius stood there, looking at the soldiers who kept their weapons trained onto him, spotting Mercury's head poking above the rear group...

" _Mercury Black, talented with his kicks, but not with the ladies. He's one of Cinder Fall's disciples and most loyal agents, the second being Emerald Sustrai. If he is here, that means I am on the right track. and actually chose the right bunker._ " Demetrius thought to himself. He readied his blades as the soldiers all opened fire, easily cleaving through them with no trouble and little resistance.

Mercury fled as Demetrius advanced, mercilessly killing the soldiers who tried to stop him. Cinder and Roman saw him running with Demetrius on his tail, in which the two readied their own weapons to combat the mysterious invader. It came to a tense stand off, each ready to fight...

"Looks like I found you, Cinder Fall." Demetrius explained.

"So you have. Now *readies swords* who exactly sent you?" Cinder demanded from the boy.

"Please, her ladyship knows that you serve that blind and arrogant cur who stole her throne. I've been sent to bring your head to her." Demetrius said as he readied his blades.

"Well, she'll be disappointed." Cinder said as she clenched her blades tighter.

Cinder sent a set of flame-infused shards at the boy, in which Demetrius repelled them by spinning his blades fast. Demetrius charged at the group, in which they suddenly disappeared before the boy's very eyes. In truth, they were rescued by Emerald, who managed to get herself into a wheelchair in order to help them.

"Emerald, what the hell are you doing?" Cinder angrily said to her student.

"Shut up, he'll catch on." Emerald whispered to her mentor.

They carefully tried to back up, only for Roman to unintentionally bump into the wall column behind him. Demetrius, realizing that he has been duped, slices the hair covering his left eye away to reveal what had been concealed. A singular bone plate opened, revealing a monstrous Grimm eye that looked slightly reptilian. He sliced at the group, lacerating Mercury's right arm and throwing Emerald's focus off and breaking the injured girl's illusion. "FOUND YOU!" was all the boy could exclaim as he continued his attack on the group...

 **Cloud Banner Estate**

 **Grant Mountains, Atlas.**

 **1:00 pm**

Qrow laid a sleepish and exhausted Ruby in her bed, with Weiss and Yang in attendance with the heiress standing beside the bed with the blonde girl standing behind the wheelchair. Yang backed the chair up and parked it over by the window before joining Weiss' side. Ruby, who was under the influence of a cocktail of painkillers and leftover anesthetic from her surgery, hazily opened her eyes to the trio and said "Where am I?"

"Relax, pipsqueak, you're back at the estate." Qrow responded.

"Oh, then the problem was solved?" Ruby wearily said.

"Yeah, turns out some of your stitching came undone and damaged some muscles in your side." Weiss explained.

Sitting down by her sister's side, Yang said "For now Rubes, you need to stay in bed for now until we can be sure there won't be anymore problems." Ruby responded to her sister with a nod, in which Yang kissed her sister on the forehead and allowed Ruby to drift off to sleep.

"We should make sure that someone check either side for any sign of potential damage after one of her therapy sessions is done." The huntsman explained.

"That sounds smart, we should also have somebody close by in case anything happens so the one who helps Ruby with her exercises can shout for help just in case." Yang brought up.

"I agree, you were just lucky that the three of us were close by." Weiss said to yang.

Yang nodded her head in agreement, as she did not want anything bad that could hinder Ruby's recovery interfering ever again. The trio talked among themselves, thinking about a plan when Hiyori entered the room and walked over to Weiss...

"Hmm? What is up Hiyori?" Weiss asked.

" _Yuri has come up with some things that she wants your opinion on._ " The servant whispered into the heiress' ear.

"Alright, tell her that I'll be down to speak to her in a few minutes." Weiss responded.

Hiyori acknowledged her orders with an "Understood" then proceeded to exit the room silently. As the trio discussed plans to avoid any more scares regarding Ruby's health, Cinder and her allies were trapped in a desperate battle...

 **Hidden Bunker Corridors**

 **Vale.**

 **1:30 pm**

A battered and scarred Cinder stood in the hallway with an equally scarred Demetrius, who looked completely unfazed by the number of injuries that he possessed on his body. Looking carefully at her opponent, she began to realize that the boy's internal material was blackened, which caused her to question things. She looked around the corridor, seeing the results of their fight and the status of her allies. Roman was dead on the ground in a pool of his own blood, a large laceration scar went across his face. Mercury had retreated with the wounded Emerald, but the boy had lost one of his prosthetic legs in the fight. Demetrius looked at the inquisitive Cinder with a smug smile...

"You seem tired, ready to give up yet?" Demetrius commented.

"I just noticed something that you are gladly exposing..." Cinder said.

Demetrius raised an eyebrow at the woman's response and said "Oh? What could you notice?" just as Cinder fired a glass arrow at the boy that shattered into pieces after Demetrius blocked it.

"You're wearing a young boy's appearance as a disguise. You also...are terrible at guarding your sides!" Cinder said, snapping her fingers.

Demetrius let out a "What?!" as shards of dust-infused glass plunged themselves deep into his side and exploded, encompassing the boy in a ball of fire. The fire suppression system activated in response to the flame, while Emerald made her way back to the room, asking Cinder "You alright?"

"Yes, I thought you were staying with Mercury." Cinder said, sounding irritated with the wounded thief for leaving her partner.

But before Emerald could speak, there was loud,growling sound coming from the fire as a large skeletal arm slammed into the ground as the dry, gruff voice of Demetrius spoke up with " Damn you...Damn you girl! You were supposed to die." His voice sounding slightly emotional, until a monstrous arm latched onto the nearby wall as a blackened body began to rise from the flames and while Demetrius began to exclaim "But now...NOW YOU PUSHED ME TOO FAR!"

Demetrius lunged at the exhausted Cinder, revealing his true form, that of a skeletal Grimm that was held by two large arms while guided by a skeletal body. Pieces of the boy's human appearance remained, scattered across the body while his human legs were hanging from the rear quarters of his body. The mere sight unsettled the two, who immediately tried to fight back as the beast charged them both in a frenzied rage. While Cinder had to contend with the monster that had invaded their bunker, Ghira had a war on approach to him...

 **Kuo Kuana**

 **Belladonna residence, meeting room.**

 **2:30 pm**

Ghira sat at the large table, while Goh, Culpeo, and captain of the menagerie police Saber Rodentia sat the two separate tables. Each member had their own advisers present to discuss the developments for counter-attacking the hostile forces that would arrive on the island soon. In front of those present were maps of the city and different locations marked, representing each location where the hostile Fang members would hit in their attack.

"So, The brothers intend to cripple the police and Fang before targeting you." Saber said as he looked over the information in front of him.

"Yes, their plan is to cut this house off from anyone who could potentially aid us when the attack happens." Ghira said.

"The White Fang Headquarters here is a target due to the fact that it remains solely under the control of the Loyalist regime, and all members loyal to Adam either abandoned the ranks, left the island, or were killed on the Night of Tears." Goh explained.

"True. Corsac and Fennec must want to bring them down as they would be the only one to contact the White Fang's central headquarters when the crisis occurs." Ghira said, continuing with "Saber, what do you suspect they'll do about the two locations?"

"I don't know what they might do to the Fang, but I have a hunch on what they might do for the police." The police captain said.

"How so?" The chieftain inquired.

"Divide and Conquer, they'll try to use the civilians to force us into dividing up our numbers so they could pick us off easily." The captain explained.

Hearing that plan caused Ghira to slightly growl because those tactics would endanger the lives of the civilians. Goh intervened with "The Chapter Headquarters here lies just near the bay, If I were to suspect their plan for that, they would most likely take out the supports and drop the building into the water, trapping the members inside by destroying the entrance and exits."

"So, how can we counter their advance?" Ghira inquired.

Looking over a map, Goh pondered an idea in his mind before speaking up with "We get their hopes up by letting them in, but we ambush them when they least expect it."

Both parties looked to their chieftain with looks of confusion and shock to his suggestion. He would allow hostile radicals into the town in order to stop them? Ghira acknowledged their reactions with "Corsac and Fennec are expecting this to be an easy task for them to accomplish, they will expect us to be monitoring the bay. Furthermore, the desert is far too dangerous to traverse and would take far too long in order to reach here."

"He's right, the bay is the only safe way in or out of here." Culpeo stated.

"So, if we let them in, how can we be sure that the civilians won't be caught in the crossfire?" Saber inquired, sounding concerned for the safety of non-combatants.

Seeing an opportunity, Goh intervened with "We evacuate the civilians in each of the district on and around the bay before nightfall. The brothers would draw the civilians out and use them against the police, but if they arrive when the district is empty..."

"...Then they have no leverage to use against the police." Culpeo said.

"Plus, we know this city better than any outside Faunus or human would, and the Splinter cell couldn't receive information on the state of the city after the Night of tears." Saber said.

"Chief, doing this will require that we brief the citizens on the plan." Goh pointed out to the chieftain.

"Agreed, we can't just evacuate districts without giving a proper explanation."

Realizing that they now have a general plan, Ghira spoke up with "So we have a plan set, I will make an announcement in regards to the approach and state that the bay districts would be temporarily evacuated for security matters, Saber shall organize the local Guard for battle and develop strategies to contain the fighting as much as possible, Goh and Culpeo, you will rally the White Fang chapter and place them on alert status, prep them for a fight."

"Understood" Both leaders said.

"Saber, one more thing, issue an announcement to the General public that I will be giving a speech in 1 hour." Ghira instructed.

"Yes, Chief." Saber said before departing with his advisers.

After both parties had departed, the Chieftain walked upstairs to his daughter's room, where Ilia was helping Blake with her rehabilitation exercises under Sun's instruction. She had been carefully lifting her leg, in which the chieftain noticed the pained expressions on his daughter's face had become less and less serious than when she had first began her recovery. He remembered seeing her first attempt to her rehabilitation exercises, only to stop as the pain was so unbearable. Blake turned her head to her father and said "Hey, Dad."

"Hello, sweetie." The chieftain said, closing the door behind him after stepping inside.

"What's the matter, Chief?" Sun inquired.

Taking a deep breath, Ghira spoke up and said "There's been a development. A group of Splinter Cell operatives under the command of the Albain Brothers is mobilizing to take Menagerie out from under us."

Blake and Ilia both let out a *gasp* while Sun muttered "Damn" under his breath hoping to avoid swearing in front of Blake's Father. Before he could continue, Ilia interrupted with "That's a direct violation of the neutrality treaty that the cells signed to prevent them from dragging this place into the conflict."

"I know, but that's where the problem comes in. The Albains are planning to deliver the island not to the Splinter Cell leader that they joined, but supposedly are planning to deliver the Island...to Adam." Ghira stated, sounding unnerved by the idea.

Blake developed a shocked expression across her face after hearing what her father said. Ghira cleared his throat and turned to Sun and Ilia, saying "I'm counting on you two to protect Blake, The Albains will most likely send someone to eliminate her if they are aware of her current state."

"We won't let you down." Ilia said.

"I agree, it's not cool to gang up on someone who can't fight back." Sun said.

Ghira continued with "You won't be alone in this fight, there will be guards on standby to combat any hostiles who breach the estate's grounds." After explaining the situation to them, Ghira went on to prepare the speech that he would be giving to the general public on the situation that would lie ahead.

 _ **Later that evening...**_

The harbor of the town was quiet, but that silence was about to be broken. In the waters of the harbor, a great many lights moved into the harbor below the surface as they approached the docks in synchronized formation. As they approached the shallow waters of the harbor, Masked White Fang soldiers emerged from under the waters as they gained their footing and climbed up onto the platforms with their weapons in hand. Among the soldiers, Corsac and Fennec emerged from the water as well alongside their troops to enact their plan to take the island. Turning to their lieutenant, Corsac said "Get your team together to neutralize the Fang headquarters here in the city. Fennec and I will take care of the Police headquarters in the meantime."

"Sir." The lieutenant responded.

Fennec, looking around the district, he immediately knew something was off. Every light in town was off, there were no signs of activity from any of the Nocturnal Faunus that sometimes liked to come out at night, and there was not a single police patrol in sight. Corsac ordered the soldiers to move out, in which they swept through the town streets to see if there were any hostiles in sight. Entering the local square, their approach is stopped by the sound of spotlights activating and shining onto them.

"SURROUND THEM, NOW!" Saber shouted to his subordinates, as hundreds of the Menagerie Local Militia moved to surround the Insurgents as White Fang Loyalist troops cut off their escape. Among the troops was Culpeo, who angrily stared down her brothers as she and her followers unveiled the captive operatives that Corsac had sent.

"Sister, I see you were given command here." Fennec commented.

"You two. Do you know how much trouble that I went through after you two revealed your ties to the Splinter Cell?" Culpeo angrily vented.

"Oh please, we offered to have you inducted into the ranks but you turned us down. You could've avoided all the trouble if you had sided with us over the weak Sienna." Corsac justified.

Before Culpeo could retaliate against her brother's response, Ghira shouted "Culpeo, calm yourself. Saber, take the Albains and their forces in custody immediately."

Saber was about to give the order for his subordinates to arrest the invaders, when one of them opened fire upon a militia officer that approached them. What started out as a simple capture assignment turned into a battle. As the gunfire echoed through the night, a group of airborne faunus listened in as their leader, Yuma, looked to the Belladonna Household before turning to his group of flying type faunus and saying...

"We may lose this battle tonight, but let's leave a deep wound in the chieftain's heart."

 **Hey, sorry for the extremely long delay in the release of this. But I am here to inform you that this story is going to be split into two parts, concluding with the next chapter. I'll be taking a minor hiatus from RWBY-based** **fan-fiction to try my hand at other works in Fanfiction. Furthermore, I am seeking employment of my own so don't be surprised if any other stories have some delay periods per release. Anyway, look forward to the sequel of this story which I may release the title sometime in the future...**

 **WAIT AND SEE.**


	14. Chapter 14: Final

**Chapter 14: The path ahead**

 **Belladonna Household**

 **Kuo Kuana, Menagerie**

 **9:39 pm.**

Walking outside, Sun crossed paths with Ilia who was taking a break on the balcony. They heard the fighting from the town beyond the rise, as the members of the militia and White Fang protected the estate as Kali was in charge while Ghira helped thwart the Insurgent Advance, and Goh was in charge of the defenders of the grounds. They looked out to the town where there were flashes of light coming over the hill, in which Sun said "They're really going at it out there."

Ilia turned to him and remarked "Well of course, they're trying to seize the island for their master." as Sun straightened out. As they looked towards the hill, their focus was shifted as Sun became distracted by something that even one of the guards caught onto as they raised their ears after catching on. One of the guards looked up to see if there was something in the clouds, in which the young monkey faunus approached him carefully and asked "Something up?"

The Guard kept his gaze fixed on the sky, saying to Sun "There aren't many bird species on the island, and the Night of tears caused many local bird populations of the kingdoms to go crazy and scatter as they sought out new homes." Sun, confused with why the guard was bringing birds up, responded with "Yeah, why does that matter?"

The guard then said "So why can I hear roughly 14 sets of wings flapping and moving towards the house at a quick stride."

Sun raised an eyebrow at the guardsman like he seemed crazy, and walked back inside to Blake, who was sitting up on her bed as Kali helped her with some quick exercises to help her before she could try to rest more despite the estate being under guard. Turning to Sun, Blake said "Hey, Sun, how's things going outside?"

The young man simply responded with "One of the guards seems to be a bit on edge, supposedly 14 sets of wings are advancing towards us."

Kali's ears rose at the news as Ilia entered the room, saying "I hope this gets ov-"

The young Faunus was cut off from her sentence when a guardsman crashed through the sliding door and into the two, his uniform stained with blood and his sidearm clattering to the ground beside Kali. The other guardsman staggered into the room as a muscular man with Bat wings on his back marched into the room, cracking his knuckles with a sinister smile on his face. Ilia hopped to her feet and readied her weapon, looking to her opponent and saying "Yuma."

Looking to Blake, who was holding her Gambol Shroud in its pistol form, The assassin chuckled and said "Well, looks like the reports on you were true; you are in bad shape."

Kali picked up the dead guard's pistol and pointed it at the man, while Sun readied his own weapon and commented "So, I'm guessing its just you breaking in to target Blake and her mom here at the house?"

Staggering to his feet, the faunus guardsman explained "No, he's not alone. There are others with-" before Yuma grabbed him by the throat and began to choke him tightly in which Sun struck him and got the assassin to drop the guard as Ilia struck him with her electrified whip, sending him staggering as Kali fired a shot that hit him in the knee. He fell over in which the guard restrained him with a set of cuffs he carried, in which Sun inquired "Are you alright man?"

The guard said "I'm fine _(cough)_ , just knock him out."

Sun delivered a blow to Yuma's head, knocking him unconscious as another winged assassin breached the room in which Ilia fought them off as Kali helped Blake. Goh and his men fought off several other winged intruders, in the different parts of the estate.

 **Hidden Bunker**

 **Vale**

 **10:00** **pm**

Limping, bleeding, and scarred badly; Cinder made her way towards a nearby window and leaving a trail of blood. Mercury followed alongside her, a bleeding wound on his forehead and clutching one of his arms carefully. Frustrated, the young man stated "Damn, that bastard's tough."

The wounded agent inquired from her subordinate "Where's Emerald?"

"Safe, I had her hide so that freak doesn't find her." Mercury responded.

The two heard a loud roar and loud, banging sounds as something massive approached them. The Grimm swung its arm towards them , slamming into the steel wall and tearing into it as the two began to move further away. Mercury helped Cinder move faster, saying "We've got to take this bastard out, otherwise we're in trouble."

"Take us to Sanitation, I have an idea." Cinder instructed her student.

The two maneuvered their way down a hall to a large chamber were several tanks were. The Grimm smashed through the door, as Mercury turned a valve attached to one of the tanks at a rapid speed while Cinder fired glass arrows at the monster. A bright, green liquid sprayed in the path of the Grimm as the beast began to slide and lose balance as Cinder readied a fireball in her hand, tossing it into the liquid and setting fire to the Grimm. It howled and screamed in pain, falling to the ground and beginning to evaporate in a cloud that was quickly sucked by the vents as Mercury and activated a fire suppression robot that went to work on putting out the fire. He then went over to Cinder, helping her up and saying "That thing was a freak."

Cinder shrugged and said "But, I think we can share the form of the beast with Salem, she might be able to get some use of it."

"Let's hope so." Mercury responded.

Mercury walked Cinder to the infirmary as the robot extinguished the flames, unaware of a small Grimm observing them from one of the vents...

 **Cloud Banner Estate.**

 **Atlas.**

 **10:34** **pm**

Ruby was sound asleep, while Yang slept on a nearby couch to be on standby in the case of Ruby needed something. The young, aspiring huntress' eyes began to twitch and shake as if she were having some form of dream. The movements were fast, and Ruby's mouth began to move as she began to say "I can still be...please...don't expel me...please!"

The sounds of those words began to pick up on the ears of the slumbering blonde, who began to open her eyes as she listened to her sister's words. Her voice was scared, afraid, as the dream she was having had terrified her. She gently laid her hand onto Ruby's shoulder and said "Ruby, wake up."

Ruby quickly awoke, visibly shaken by the scene that had occurred in her dream as signs of tears began to flow down her eyes. Yang pulled her sister close, drying her tears with a handkerchief and saying "That dream must have been pretty scary for you to start crying like that."

Resting her head on her older sister's shoulder, Ruby explained "It was. I dreamed that I was standing before the school board, and that they were deciding to expel me because of my physical state."

Yang's eyes widened at her sister's explanation of her dream. Ruby's overall dream was to become a huntress, which to her, were like the heroes of the stories that Yang and her father used to read to her when she was young. The incident of the Moonfall, and the injuries she had received that day were like living threat to her as she was terrified of not achieving her dream. Yang pulled her close and started "That dream is still a good distance away, and this little setback shouldn't hold you down." Ruby raised her head to sister, who rested her hands on her cheeks and continued "Focus your energy on getting better, then, myself, Weiss, and even Blake and Uncle Qrow will help you find a way to help you get stronger and set you back on track."

Ruby smiled at hearing her sister's words, in which Yang kissed her on the forehead and instructing her to get some sleep. Yang got up and walked back over to the couch as Ruby drifted off into sleep in which the blonde drifted off into her own dreams as well.

* * *

In the land of the Grimm, at the edge of the secluded stronghold of Lilith, the Grimm queen stood with tower as Grimm arose from the numerous spawning pools in droves. Lilith raised her hand, causing a skeletal type Grimm to begin to change its shape, massive bone plates began to form around its body and a pair of horns formed on a bone plate "helmet" began to form around the Grimm's head. By the time that the transformation was complete, it appeared as a towering knight with a large bone sword for an arm on its left side. Lilith directed it to fall in line with thousands of rows lined with similar Grimm to the one that was summoned, but also massive Ursai and beowolves which stood among the rows, their eyes radiating with a bright blue light. One of the "Knight" Grimm, who was much larger than the others with a large cape made of dark webbing turned to the horde which stood before Lilith. Raising his sword, the Grimm spoke and proclaimed"

"SERVE YOUR MISTRESS, THE TRUE QUEEN!"

All of the Grimm openly roared as Lilith looked at her creations with a smile...

 **Sorry if this seems rushed.**

 **TO BE CONTINUED IN RWBY: FINAL** **DARK**


End file.
